Not Desperate
by pharmtechgrl71
Summary: Daryl Dixon/OC. She was lonely, not desperate. He was shy and nervous. Will they be able to get over their personal issues to realize that they aren't what they think they are? That they need each other? Yvonne has as long a road ahead of her as Daryl does.
1. Chapter 1 Meet and Greet

I hear the door bang open and closed as I light my second cigarette. I don't really care who has come out and pay no attention to it. Until I hear shuffling feet and look up to see a man standing in front of me with an unlit cigarette dangling between his fingers. "Got a light?" he asked. His voice is shaky and I can't tell if it is because he's drunk or nervous. I stand from my spot on the curb in front of the bar I had been drug to a few hours before. "Sure" I said looking him in the eye, or at least trying too. His shaggy hair was hanging in his face obscuring his eyes. He quietly shuffles on his feet and looks down at where I had been setting.

"You can sit, if you like. I'm not going back in for a while. You're welcome to join me" I say. He stares at me as I get as comfortable as I can on the concrete. He eyes me like I'm crazy, like I have a death wish and am hoping he's a serial killer. But after a minute of contemplation, he sits. I can finally see his face. Ragged and slightly dirty, like he had been working outside all day. Maybe he is a construction worker. If that's the case, I bet he has a nice body too. Damn my brain needs to sleep. His hair is dark and still covers his eyes. We took drags off our cigarettes at the same time. He is still quiet, but now it seems like it is out of nervousness, not being drunk. He had been steady on his feet and I couldn't detect a slur in his words, the few he had offered me. Now I'm nervous. Should I speak, or just let him be? He's staring straight ahead, as if he is trying to ignore me.

I don't want to torture him with my presence any longer, so I stand and crush my cigarette under my boot. I pass in front of him to go back to the bar and he mumbles lowly, "Ya don't have to leave if ya don't want. I didn't want to disturb ya. I ain't gonna do nothing. Didn't mean to scare ya or make ya nervous." I looked down at him and he was biting his thumbnail trying not to look at me. "You didn't scare me or make me feel nervous. I just thought that maybe you wanted to be alone. Didn't want to bore you with small talk." I sat down next to him and lit another cigarette

"I'm not good at talking," he said, "but I'm a good listener if ya wanna. I don't mind. I'd rather hear you talk than my damn brother and his friends", he smirked. I smiled and looked at me as he finally brushed the hair out of his eyes. They were the most amazing shade of blue I have ever seen. Blue, like colored contact lens blue, hypnotic almost.

"Well, I was just gonna ask your name and if you were here voluntarily or had been drug here like I was". He shuffled in his seat a little and lit another cigarette. "My brother thinks it's a good idea for me to get drunk and laid, but I ain't in the mood for either." Until now, he thinks. "My name's Daryl. What's yours?"

"I'm Yvonne. It's nice to meet you Daryl. I think my friends may know your brother. I'm here because of the same." I giggled and immediately regretted it. I never giggle, especially around men. That's what little girls do, not grown ass women. And he looked at me as if I were not one, a grown ass woman that is. Thankfully, he ignored my childish outburst.

"Maybe so. Maybe we've been set up. I know if I go back in there and ain't drinking or hittin' on some poor girl, I'll never hear the end of it."

"Same here, 'cept I'm supposed to hit on a guy. Maybe if I hit on one of my friends, they'll back off." He laughed. An actual open your mouth and show teeth laugh. "My brother would want to see that, then hit on you and your friends thinking he was on his way to the best orgy of his life".

"My friends like to think they're picky about their men, but honestly, they don't have the best taste in men. Maybe your brother would have a chance with them". He didn't respond to that and we were surrounded by silence again. Daryl seemed like a decent guy. Obviously not looking for a quick, drunk fuck. Or at least that's what he wants me to think. "All I really want to do is get some food and go home, but they're my ride. We all came together in one car, so I'm kinda at their mercy. When they've had enough, I get to go home".

"I don't want to be here anymore than you do. Maybe I could take ya home? We can stop and get food on the way. I'm hungry too, but only if ya want. Don't want to creep ya out or anything. I won't try nothing, I promise".

"Okay. That sounds good. I don't think you're creepy and you already told me you're not looking to get laid, so I think I can trust you". He gave me a look of surprise and let out a breath I think he had been holding since he stopped talking. He shook it off and started walking away. I quickly followed him to a red and white Ford pickup. "Should you tell your brother that you're leaving? Won't he be worried?"

"Nah. He's probably too shitfaced by now to know I'm not in there. Probably trying to pick up his fuck for the night. How about your friends?"

"They'll text me if they want to know where I am. Besides, really don't want to see their faces when I tell them I'm getting a ride home with some guy I just met. They'll be asking too many questions that I don't have answers for. I'll talk to them tomorrow."

"Okay", he said. Then he unlocked and opened the passenger side door for me. After he climbed in, he asked me where I wanted to go. I didn't know what was around and he suggested a diner on highway 96. The ride was quiet with neither of us speaking. I kept thinking about his eyes and his glorious smile. I feel like a stupid little girl all googly eyed over the cute football player. This man was no athlete. I mean, he very well could be. He had a nice body. Covered by torn and dirty jeans, a sleeveless t-shirt under a sleeveless blue and black flannel. I bet those arms could throw one three miles. I started to wonder what those would feel like wrapped around me. I really need to get a grip. I know it's been four years since I was with someone, and I am kinda lonely sometimes, but I am not desperate enough to jump a total stranger. I hope.


	2. Chapter 2 Diner Date

Chapter Two "Dinner Date"

We arrived at the diner fifteen minutes later. I hadn't noticed the truck come to a stop until I heard him open the door and jump out. I turned to open my side door, but before I could, the door swung open and he stood on the other side holding his hand out to me helping me out of the truck. Wow! He's a right Southern gentleman, I suppose. Next stop, pulling out my chair. He opened the diner door for me and I followed him to a booth in the back. Seeing him in the harsh light for the first time, I noticed his eyes again. They held nervousness and perhaps insecurity. I took my eyes off his and looked at his face. He looked world weary, tired, and maybe a little scared. I was about to say something when our waitress arrived at the table.

"Hey Daryl! Haven't seen ya in here in a while. How've ya been?" She said and flashed a toothy grin.

"Been fine Carol. Just ain't felt like going our lately. Been real busy at work. Merle dragged me to the bar tonight, but I escaped". He said and smiled back at her.

"Did you take a hostage on your way out?" Carol said, laughing lightly and looking over at me. Now his face went red and he dipped his eyes to the table.

"This is Yvonne. Met her at the bar. Yvonne, this is Carol".

"It's nice to meet you. He was kind enough to offer me a ride home. My friends weren't quite finished with their night and it seems neither of us wanted to be there".

"Well, Daryl's a sweet one, that's for sure. Too bad his brother can't be more like him. You guys ready to order"?

"I'll just have a cheeseburger, fries and a coke please".

"I'll have the same" Daryl said.

"Be back with your drinks in a minute" Carol said and walked away.

"Well, I'm beginning to think your brother is an ass. No offense".

"He is. Biggest asshole I ever met, but he's a tough sonuvah bitch. Practically raised me by himself, when he wasn't in juvie" Daryl said, finally lifting his eyes from the table.

"Maybe I should call my friends and warn them?" I chuckled nervously hoping not to sound too freaked out.

He looked at me seriously, as if he had been hurt by what I said. "He wouldn't hurt 'em. Never hurt a woman ever. Neither of us would. It's not right. He might annoy them, could creep 'em the fuck out, but he's no rapist. They're safe". We smiled at each other as Carol sat our drinks on the table. When I took a drink, I saw her pat him on the shoulder and give him a wink.

"So," I said after a few moments. "You've known Carol for a long time I'm guessing. I just noticed you two seem to get along well". Not jealous. Not jealous. Please don't be an ex-girlfriend.

"Yea, she dated Merle for a while. Didn't last long. Don't know why". He said sarcastically. "She's great. I help her out with house stuff, like repairs an stuff. She cooks dinner for me sometimes. I teach her daughter, Sophia, how to track, use a compass, and shit like that. I'm taking 'em camping in a couple weeks. Soph's been on my ass about taking her out for a while now".

"That's cool!" I said. "I've never been camping before. My parents were never into it and I guess I just lost interest after I got older. I'd love to go sometime. I imagine it's probably the most calming experience in the world. Being with nature, the fresh air. My grandfather was a hunter. Deer, quail and rabbit mostly. Every year he would tell me that he would take me with him next year. Never happened".

"Well, I hunt same as your grandfather, I guess. But I get me some squirrels too". I squished up my face at that. "They're not bad if ya season 'em right. When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time in the woods. It's a good place to think, when ya want to be alone. You're right. It's the most peaceful place on earth".

Just then, Carol brought our food to the table. She dropped mustard and ketchup bottles on there too and asked if we needed anything. We both said "no" and "thank you" and started eating. We ate in silence mostly except for the occasional "mmmmmmmmm good". It was one of the best cheeseburgers I'd ever had. And they served the crinkle fries that I love so much. Every now and then, I would look up from my plate to see Daryl chomping down on his burger or stuffing fries in his mouth. He ate like he hadn't had anything in weeks. It was cute, funny, but I didn't dare smile. Didn't want to offend him with a cuteness accusation. Too soon we were both done, plates clean. Daryl asked if I liked it and I said yes. He followed up with, "Would you like a milkshake? If ya liked the burger, the shakes are incredible".

"Well sure, but I don't think I could finish one. I'm kinda full".

"I'll share with ya. Ya like chocolate"?

"I'm a woman ain't I"? I said as I smiled and winked at him. I heard him say something under his breath. I wasn't sure but it sounded like, "you sure are". When I looked at him, he blushed slightly. He held his hand up for Carol as she walked out of the kitchen.

"Ya'll done or are ya getting dessert"? She said as she makes her way to the table.

"Yup. Gonna get a chocolate milkshake".

"Just one, or one for each of you"?

"Just one please" I said. "We're gonna share. After that meal, I couldn't finish one by myself".

"Alright. One shake, two straws. Coming up".

As she walked away, the table grows quiet. His thumbnail ended up back in his mouth and he gazed at me. I didn't know this look. I had never seen this on a man's face before. His hair was in his eyes, but this time, the blue shone through the dangling strands. I smiled at him shyly and rested my chin on my palm. "Sooo, what do you do? For work, I mean"?

"I work construction, but do car repair work part time. Got a buddy owns a garage in town and I do some stuff for him when I ain't on a job site".

"That's cool. It's important for a woman to know a good, reliable, honest mechanic. I guess if anything ever happens to my car, I'll call you up".

When Carol brings the shake to the table, she doesn't stay long. Just drops the straws on the table and leaves us alone. I can't believe I'm here, in a diner at one o'clock in the morning with a man I've only known for about two hours. An extremely sexy, handsome man at that. I don't want this night to end.


	3. Chapter 3 What the Hell part one

A/N Thank you so much for the favorites and follows. It means a lot to me. Here is another chapter for all you lovely people. This chapter and the next are in Daryl's pov. This is his version of the first two chapters. Enjoy, and as always, comments are encouraged.

Chapter Three

"What the hell" part one

Damn, this has been one weird night. Expected a night like most of mine nowadays. Stumblin' drunk with a fumblin' fuck or just drunk with no fuck. Don't fuck sober. Can't be around women like that if I'm not. Helps if they're drunk too. Less they care about things the better I feel about it. Not that I feel good about any of it. Anyway, I figured I'd have a couple beers and make Merle happy. He'd be so gone by then he wouldn't care about what I did, or didn't, do. But it hadn't worked out that way. Yeah, he was drunk when I got there, but he was in asshole mode, so he busted my balls 'cause he could. There was a table of women Merle and his friends were ogling. They were nice looking, way too classy for the likes of this bar. Guess they were slumming it tonight. Merle's friend Len wouldn't shut up about the blonde one. She had a fine set of tits, he said. Wanted to bury his face in 'em, maybe his dick too if she'd let him. Didn't matter if she did or didn't. Douche bag. Can't stand to hear that shit. Didn't want to be there, didn't want to risk being guilty by association.

So I just sat there, at the bar, downing beer after beer. Well, it seemed that way. I'd been nursing the same one for about an hour. So tired of the music, the noise and Merle's mouth, I grabbed my smokes and head outside, after I make sure my brother doesn't notice. I'm making my escape. I push through the front door as fast as I can and apparently harder than I thought, because it banged so loud I winced. I just stood there for a moment hoping Merle didn't hear it. 'Bout a minute later, I relaxed and reached into my pocket for my lighter. Not that one, not that one either. Damn! Must've left it on the bar. I ain't going back for it. Hope someone else is out here I can bum one off of. Looking around, I see a figure sitting on the curb by the road. Shit, I ain't good at approaching people. Got problems with people I know much less new ones. Just borrow the lighter dumbass and walk away. So I stomp over as loudly as I can. As I get closer, the figure looks familiar. Oh shit, it's the blonde with the tits that fucker Len's been leering at. At least he didn't follow her outside. Wonder how long she's been out here? I stand slightly behind her on the left, shuffling back and forth on my feet; my nerves are getting the best of me. "Got a light?"

When she looks up at me, I notice her eyes first and then her lips. Her eyes are dark. I can't tell for sure, but they're probably brown. And her full lips have a cigarette between them. She says something, but I can't hear her. All I hear is the blood pumping in my heart. All of a sudden, she shoves her zippo in my face and lights my smoke. Then, as she sits back down, my eyes can't help but follow her. She asks me to stay, to sit with her. I would have even if she hadn't asked. If douche bag decides to come outside, at least I'll be here to stop him from doing anything. This girl must be crazy, she don't know who I am. I could be a damn serial killer. She's either very trusting or has a death wish. I slowly lower myself down beside her. We didn't speak, just smoked our cigarettes. I tried not to look at her. Afraid she'd catch me staring. She was a genuinely beautiful woman. Don't see much like her around here. All of a sudden, she stood up and stomps on her cigarette. She moves in front of me to leave and I blurt out, before my brain can catch up with my mouth, that she didn't have to go. Maybe I scared her. Wouldn't doubt it if I had. Decent woman would be scared of me. But she wasn't scared of me in the least. She didn't want to annoy me with her yappy woman mouth. I wouldn't mind hearing her voice though. Better than hearing Merle spew shit outta his. I told her as much and she sat back down. She had a sexy voice and a beautiful name. Sound French maybe, but who cares? Turns out, we were in the same boat.

So I did something I've never done before. I offered to buy her food and take her home. Never done that before 'cause I never met a woman I wanted to do that for, or with. I was scared as shit, but I also felt more confident than I ever had in my life. She was incredible. She didn't run away screaming from me or make fun of me for being dumb and dirty. She wanted to talk to me. I wanted to be able to talk to her too. And she didn't even hesitate when she said yes. So she followed me to the truck and I opened the door for her. I took us to the diner on 96. She was real quiet on the ride over. Is she regretting this? God, I've done something stupid I bet and don't even know what it is. When we pulled into the parking lot, I got out and went over to open her door. Neither of us said anything as she got out and we walked into the diner. Even though we were the only ones there, I took her to a booth in the back. In the bright light of the diner, I could see just how beautiful she is. Long blonde hair, dark chocolate eyes and soft, full lips. Well, they sure looked soft. I wanna find out. I didn't notice Carol come to the table and was shaken from my thoughts when she spoke. Haven't seen her in a while, but I'm sure she understands. Hell, she dated Merle, she knows what I deal with every day. I introduced her to Yvonne and blushed after her joke. I was so pre occupied with my embarrassment that I didn't hear her order, so I just got what she did.

When she called my brother an ass, I almost laughed, but didn't know if she was being serious or not. Merle's a lot of things; asshole, douche bag, dick, etc. He raised me though, best he could considering he spent most of his time in high or in juvie. But he'd never hurt a woman. Told Yvonne that too. Neither of us would. Saw enough of that growing up. I was starting to feel more comfortable around her. She seemed down to earth, not snobby or stuck-up like most women. I'd almost think she belonged there, sitting across from me. I just wanted to keep her talking. How many men have said something like that? It wasn't just that sexy voice though, it was what she was saying. Taking about camping and hunting, the things that make my like seem bearable. If it weren't for those things, I'd a never survived. Maybe she'd go camping with me sometime. Wait one damn minute! I just met her, know practically nothing about her, don't even know if she would want to see my ugly ass again, and I'm planning weekend trips. Fuck! I think I'm having a stroke.

Finally, Carol brought the food. Cheeseburger and fries. I lucked out. I had worried that she had ordered a salad or something. No sooner did the plates hit the table, she tore in. Making those damn "mmmmmm" noises. That woman's gonna kill me with that shit. The food here was good though. Ate lunch here during the week mostly 'cause it's close to the latest job site. We didn't say a word to each other. Every now and then, I'd look up at her, but she was either scarfing down her burger or stuffing fries in her mouth. When we were done, she said she liked it. I was craving a chocolate shake. This diner's been here since the 1950's and heir shakes still taste the same, or so I've heard. I offered to split one with her and her face just lit up. When I asked her if she like chocolate-stupid question I know- she brought it to my attention that she was a woman, wasn't she? Hell, she damn sure is. Best looking one I've seen in my life. So we ordered with Carol and waited. We made small talk again. Told her what I did. Didn't expect her to sound half excited about it.


	4. Chapter 4

I have failed to mention this, but I do not own The Walking Dead or any of it's characters. I only own Yvonne, her friends and family. And I own the shit out of them. Also, I will probably be updating twice a week dependent on my days off. Please enjoy.

Chapter Four

"What the Hell" part two

Felt like I was in a damn romantic movie when the shake got to the table. Carol sat it down with two straws and just walked off. So, there we were staring at each other over a chocolate milkshake. Felt like that guy from the old 1950's beach movies my ma watched when I was real little. "So, where do ya live? Don't gotta go across town, do I?"

"Well, I live about thirty minutes away, but I'm staying with one of my friends from the bar. This was supposed to be a girls night out for us followed by a sleepover, but I'm not sure that's gonna work out according to plan."

"As long as you know how to get to her place, I can get ya there. Let me just get the check from Carol and we can get outta here."

"No way Daryl, I'm paying. I was the one who wanted food. You just brought me to it. Please? As a thank you for being a decent guy and offering me a ride?"

Aw hell no! She's not taking this away from me, even if I have to embarrass myself. "Listen, I've never really been on a date before, so just let me do this. Never got to pay for a lady's dinner. You can pay next time." And I didn't hesitate, stood right up and booked it to the counter where Carol was pouring coffee for some poor schlub that musta come in while I wasn't paying attention. I glanced back at the booth as I walked and saw Yvonne's pretty face full of smile. I'm gonna make sure I see that smile every day, in person. I know I'll be seeing it in my sleep.

"She must have bought 'How to Relate to Daryl Dixon for Dummies'. She's doing a good job I take it? Carol said, grinning.

"Stop it," I said. "She needed some help and I didn't want to give Merle's boys a chance to do it. One of 'em had been eyeing her."

"Yeah, sure Daryl. But putting yourself in close proximity to a woman with all her body parts covered and walking a straight line is uncommon for any Dixon. No offence sweetheart."

"Damn ya bitch," I said and laughed. "Ya know I ain't like that. But then again, you dated Merle's ass. What's that say about you?" She rolled her eyes and handed me my change. "Don't screw this up Daryl. Be good to her and she'll be good to you," Carol said and walked back into the kitchen. As I got back to the both, Yvonne was grabbing her jacket and purse. She took one last sip of the shake and stood up. I didn't notice how close I was to the table until I realized she was just inches from me.

"I'm ready to go," she said in a whisper. Not wanting to dwell on the fact that she was close enough to kiss, I took her hand and led her out of the diner and back to my truck. The ride was silent again, except for her giving me directions. As we approached the house, I noticed the neighborhood. Typical suburban street, not like the one where I lived. The house she told me to pull in at was pretty, you could tell a woman lived there. It had flower beds and wind chimes. I stopped the truck in the driveway, but she didn't make a move to get out. She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to face me.

"This was a much better night than I was expecting. Thank you for everything. For rescuing me, buying me dinner and driving me back here. Maybe I can pay you back? Do something nice for you," she said.

"Well," I started. I was getting nervous again. Don't know what to say, or rather, how to say it. "You don't have to do that. But maybe I could see you again? In the daylight, not in a bar."

"I'd love that! Maybe lunch this week, or next. I don't know what your schedule is, but we could work something out. I'd really like to see you again Daryl."

"I really had a good night too. Much better than my usual." I could feel myself blushing, trying not to make a fool out of myself. Then my mind went on autopilot. I put my hand on her face and leaned in toward her. I just stared at those beautiful lips. I didn't even realize that I had touched mine to hers until I felt hers move against mine. It didn't last long, but I felt breathless when she pulled away from me.

"I should go inside. They're probably not even awake, but I don't want them to worry."

"Okay," I said. She asked me for my phone and when I gave it to her, she put her number in. "Call me when you can," she said.

I watched her get out of the truck and walk to the door until she disappeared through it. What the hell has happened to me? There is no way this woman could make me feel like this, but she had. I just stared at my phone to reassure myself that this wasn't a dream. Sure enough, her name and number were glowing back at me. I smiled and started to back out of the driveway. When I got back to the trailer I shared with Merle, I didn't see his bike there. Fine with me, I'm definitely not in the mood for his stupid ass right now. I went to my room, shut the door and peeled off my clothes. I laid there with my phone in my hand. I decided to do something very bold. I sent her a text.

_Goodnight Yvonne. Have sweet dreams. D_

I put the phone on the nightstand and watched it till the light went off. Just as I closed my eyes, I heard it vibrate. I had a message from Yvonne.

_Goodnight Daryl. I will. You too. Y_

I'm gonna explode before I get to see her again.


	5. Chapter 5 Patience is not my virtue

Chapter Five

"Patience is not my virtue"

Yvonne's issues start to peek out, and Daryl is horny. . . and frustrated

I had hoped that everyone would be asleep when I got inside, but not my luck. Kay, whose house we were staying at, almost jumped me as soon as I walked in.

"Where the hell have you been" We thought you'd ditched us or got kidnapped or something."

"Neither really. But I guess you could say I was rescued."

"By who?"

"His name is Daryl and he's not like anyone I've ever met at a bar. EVER! He was there with his brother and some friends. Assholes apparently."

"God I hope it wasn't the military dick with the fake hand. He creeped the fuck out of me. He had all his "boys" there trying to act all charming, but he was just drunk. Probably jerking it with his fake hand right now."

"Good Lord! A fake hand? Why did ya'll stick around there then?"

"Apparently to give you time to meet Darren."

"Daryl!"

Then Abagail and Sara come into the kitchen. Great, now I have to go through this again.

"Whatever," Kay said. "How did you meet him anyway? I didn't see you talking to anybody."

"It was when I went outside for some air. He asked me for a light and just stuck around. He's real cute, and sexy too. Long, dark hair and perfect blue eyes. He even opened doors for me. I was overwhelmed." I said, fanning myself like a Southern belle.

"Did you get laid at least?" Abagail asked.

"No," I said. "I wasn't looking for that and ya'll know it. He wasn't looking for it either. His brother was doing the same thing to him. Trying to get him laid and apparently, he's not into bar whores."

"Did he kiss you? Did anything else happen? Are you gonna see him again? Can you trust him?" Sara rambled on without taking a breath.

"Yes, he kissed me. No, nothing else happened. Yes, I'm gonna see him again. He's supposed to call me sometime this week. And yes, I think I can trust him. He wasn't looking to get laid. He told me that. He was pissed off at his brother because he won't rest till Daryl gets some. He seemed shy and nervous and maybe a little insecure. He stammered around a little and he has all these nervous tics. I don't believe anything will happen, but it's not like I'm gonna fall in love with this guy. He's cute and he was very nice to me, but that doesn't mean anything. He's not gonna call me. I'm not going to believe that this guy is any different from the others. I'm not stupid enough to believe that he's special, that he won't do the things that everyone else has done. As long as I remember that, I think I'll be fine. If I don't let myself get fooled into believing his words, I won't be hurt."

I didn't want to talk about it anymore. I have no idea what had gotten into me. I had just taken a nearly perfect night and turned it into a future loss. I know I'll never hear from him, but at least I have a good memory and the best kiss I've had in years. I walked into the bedroom I would be sharing with Kay. I took off my clothes and put on my Scooby Doo sleep shorts and a tank. Hopefully, I'll be asleep by the time everyone else goes to bed. Then my phone vibrates on the nightstand. A message from Daryl. Carol was right; he does seem like a sweet one.

The next morning when Daryl woke up, the sun was right in his eyes. Forgot to close the damn blinds when he left yesterday. Instead of getting up to close them, he just turned over onto his stomach and buried his head in the pillow. He just wanted sleep and darkness. Then he remembered last night, and his dream. He did see that smile again just like he knew he would. They were sitting in the bed of his truck, legs dangling off the tailgate. He had taken her somewhere in the woods. The birds were chirping and he could hear the little creek that flowed nearby. Her hair blew in the wind and he watched as it would cover her face. He reached over and brushed it behind her ear. As she turned to face him, her eyes smiled at him. "You are so beautiful baby," he said as he leaned in to kiss her. He moved his hand to the back of her head, curling his fingers in her hair. As they kissed, she moved her hands to his chest, moving them up and down his torso. He woke then, when he felt the sun on his face. He wants to see her again, talk to her. He wants to know who she is. He laid in bed for a few more minutes before getting up to shower.

He grabbed a shirt, his pants from last night and a pair of boxers and headed out the door into hallway. He briefly stepped into the living room to see the state of it. Merle was passed out on the floor with some red head tangled up with him. Damn! He must've been dead to the world if the sound of Merle fuckin' couldn't wake him up. He jumped into the shower and just stood there letting the water cascade down his body. With his eyes closed, he imagined Yvonne in the diner last night. The sound of her voice still echoing through his mind. Then he thought of his dream again. Daryl placed his left hand on the wall and used his right to grip his dick. Stroking himself, he imagines her talking to him. She's laying there underneath him naked on the bed of the truck, her breathing shallow. He leans forward and grazes her neck with his lips. "I want you Daryl. Touch me Daryl. I want to taste you Daryl." He feels the heat coil in his belly and just as he shoots onto the wall, the bathroom door bursts open.

"Damn baby brother! Don't use all the hot water. I got me good lovin' last night. Gotta get the smell of that bitch off me."

"Fuck Merle! Can't take a Goddamn shower in peace!"

"Calm down brother. You got in early last night. Take it you didn't get no lovin'."

"None of ya damn business Merle! Now get ya ass outta here and give me some fuckin' privacy!" When he heard the door slam he started washing himself.

Yvonne was on her way back home. When she woke that morning, everyone else was still sleeping. She quietly got out of bed, trying hard not to wake Kay who was snoring lightly. She took a quick shower, got dressed and left. Despite the meal she had just a few hours earlier, she was starving. McDonalds drive-thru to the rescue. Eating, driving and smoking; it was a skill, right? Minutes after leaving the drive-thru, her phone began to ring. Hoping that it could be Daryl, she didn't look at the screen when she answered it. Oh, how she wished she had. "Hi honey. How are you?" Great, she thought, she couldn't even wait for me to get home and call her. "Doing good Helen. How are you?"

"Just fine sweetheart. Just wondering when you'd like to meet and pick up Michael"

"I'm on my way home now. Probably be there in ten to fifteen minutes, so I could meet you wherever and whenever you want. You let me know."

"Okay. How about the parking lot of the Target on 36? Give us a couple of hours. He's been downstairs on the video games since he woke up."

"Sure. How's he been? Did he have fun?"

"Yeah. We took him to the toy store yesterday and bought him a new game. I think he's going through a growth spurt. He ate almost a whole pizza last night."

"He probably is. I know he's gotten at least two or three inches taller. I'll be looking up at him soon enough."

"Well, you know David was over six feet."

"Yeah. I remember."

"Next month will be four years. We're planning on coming up. Maybe we could all spend some time together. We miss you Yvonne. Haven't seen much of you since David passed."

"I know Helen. I feel bad about that. I'm trying to take care of my son. I work full time and spend the rest of it with him. Let me know when you'll be down. I'll make sure we all do something special together."

"Okay dear. I'll let you go so you can drive safely. See ya in a couple of hours."

"See ya then. Tell my boy I love him."

With that, we hung up. I had hoped to wean that woman out of my life after her son died. I would never taker her grandson way from her, but she doesn't need to see me to spend time with him. Wonder how Daryl would fit into this equation? Doubt I even have to worry about that.


	6. Chapter 6 Making Plans

Howdy! Here's another one for ya'll. This one is all Daryl. I know nothing about bikes, but what ya gonna do. Asked my husband some questions, so there ya go. This is chapter six and no one has commented. I'm assuming that means ya'll have no complaints and like where I'm taking this. I can accept that. But, if ya have something to say, don't be shy. I would love to communicated with all of you. Thanks again for the favorites/follows. They brighten my day! Enjoy!

Chapter Six

Game face

How long was he supposed to wait to call her? He'd been thinking about it ever since he got out of the shower. What if she'd changed her mind and didn't want to see him? What if her friends convinced her that he was worthless? If Merle or the boys hit on them, he'd kill 'em. That stupid, handless idiot was always ruining things for him. He knew why too. Merle knew that if Daryl found something good, he would follow it to wherever it ended, leaving him alone as a result. Yeah, Merle has "friends", but you couldn't count on them for shit. They'd just as soon make Merle their scapegoat and take off for the hills. Daryl loved his brother, at least he thought he did. He often wondered what his life would have been without him. Would he be a different person or would he be dead? Don't need to think about that. Would rather think about Yvonne. As he drove down the road toward the garage, he passed the diner where they had been earlier. If he called her, and she agreed to see him again, it would be better than the diner. Although, the diner was real special. He didn't want her to think that he didn't want better with her.

When he arrived at T's garage, the man was waiting for him standing next to a bike. "Sorry to call you on Sunday man, but this bike's been a bitch. Neither Zach or Jim can figure it out."

"Who's it belong to?" Daryl asked. It was a beautiful piece. Brand new he'd guess. Triumph Bonneville, he'd wanted one since he was sixteen.

"New deputy in town, Shane Walsh, I think. He's a prick, but a prick with great taste and money."

"Okay. I'll look at it. Don't want to get my ass arrested if I can't fix it though." Daryl laughed. He had known T-Dog since high school. Not a lot of black people in this part of Georgia. Merle and his "friends" have quite a reputation. But T-Dog hadn't been afraid of them. Stood up to Merle and the gang quite a few times since then. Daryl admired that and had made it a point to be his friend. The two of them and Rick had been close for over thirty years.

It took the great Daryl Dixon exactly twenty minutes to diagnose the problem. Sugar in his gas tank. It made him chuckle. He hadn't seen this since he and Rick did the same to the principle's car junior year. He guessed Rick remembered that too. When he went back to T's office, he was on the phone, so he shut the door and sat down in the chair next to it.

"Yeah man, count me in. I'm sure Dixon will want to be there too. He just walked in. I'll ask him." He moved the phone away from his face. "It's Rick. He wants us to come over tonight and watch the game. Lori's taking the kids to her sister's. He's ordering pizza and wings, wants us to bring the beer."

"Hell yeah," he says. "Be more than happy to buy beer. I'll be sure and get plenty. 'Sides, I wanna talk to ya'll about something anyway."

T-Dog returns to the phone. "He's in and bringing beer. Says he's got something to talk about. Okay man, see ya then." After he hangs up the phone, he turns his full attention to Daryl. "So, what's the verdict?"

"On the bike?" he replies. "Suppose someone don't like him much. Think I know who it is too."

T began to laugh. "Don't tell me, Rick put sugar in his gas tank, right? Can't believe those two morons didn't catch that!"

"Well, I started thinking about what you said about him being a deputy and a prick. Figured Rick would know him by now. And we both know that prankin' bastard pretty well."

"Yeah, we do," He laughed. "You gonna bust his ass tonight?"

"Hell naw. Just want to know how big a prick he is. Got Merle to think about, ya know."

"I'd rather not think about Merle," T said. He paused for a moment the asked, "So, what's on your mind tonight Dixon? It's gotta be important if your wanting input on it."

"Yeah, well, something happened last night and I really don't know what to think about it. I'm just confused as hell and don't know what I should do."

"Well, that's what we're here for bud. We'll steer ya right. Does it involve a woman?" T asked and grinned so big, those pearly whites almost blinded Daryl.

"None of ya damn business! You'll find out later at Rick's if I still wanna tell ya by that time." He huffed out a breath of exasperation. "What time we gotta be there?"

"The games starts at six, so between five thirty and then?"

"K. See ya then. I gotta get home and take another shower. Didn't get to enjoy it this morning 'cause Merle was being a nosy dick."

"I am not gonna ask about that. See ya later Daryl. Be careful."

"Sure thing. See ya later." When Daryl got back to his truck, he noticed that it was four o'clock. Plenty of time to get home, shower, change, buy beer and get to Rick's. He can't wait to hear about this new deputy. If he was as bad as he thought, they were all in for some shit. Then he thought about her again. What was he gonna say about her? How could he explain what had happened and what he was feeling? He didn't even know what he was feeling.

Two hours later, he was pulling into Rick's driveway, two cases of beer setting on the seat next to him. As soon as he hops out of the truck, Carl comes running out of the front door. "Daryl! Did you bring your bow? "

"Nah little man. No need for it. Got no one to maim today buddy."

"Ya gotta take me hunting Uncle Daryl. Let me use your bow. Teach me the stuff you're showing Sophia."

"I am teaching ya all the stuff I'm showing Sophia. The crossbow's still too big for ya, though. Ya arms are too short. You'll get it in a few years, don't worry about it. Maybe you could go camping with us in a couple of weeks. Taking Sophia and her mamma. I'll talk to your parents about it." He carried one of the cases through the front door as Carl was talking. He dropped it in the kitchen and saw Lori by the sink making a bottle for Judith. "Hey Daryl. Bring enough beer with you?" she asked with wide eyes.

"Nah. Got another case in the truck." She laughed at that and left the room to give the baby her bottle. When I got back with the other case, T and Rick came in and started filling a large tub with ice. "Are we allowed to have any of that Dixon?" Rick asked.

"Only if ya can sneak it. Neither of ya'll are too quiet. I'll hear ya coming."

Then Lori comes through with a couple of overnight bags and the kids. As she and Rick kiss each other goodbye, Carl gives Daryl a pleading look. Daryl gives him a wink that says, "I'm on it bud." When the car pulls out of the driveway, the party starts. They each grab a beer, fill a plate with pizza and wings and settle in the living room in front of the big screen.

"So I understand that we got ourselves a new deputy. What's he like, Rick?" Daryl asks, smiling and waiting to hear his confessional.

"He's a damn Neanderthal. Got that God's gift to women and law enforcement ego going on. Everyone is guilty until proven innocent shit. He came from Atlanta, so he don't know shit about running a small town. And to top it all off, he's my new partner. Chief Horvath has already been all over him about his attitude."

"Should I be worried Rick? Should I lock Merle in the closet forever?"

"I think having Merle locked in the closet would benefit all mankind." T said, licking wing sauce off his fingers.

"Ya probably right. He's gonna hit Walsh's radar soon, him and the boys. I just hope they can control themselves for a while. Shane's already convinced this is the meth capital of Georgia. He won't need them to give him an excuse to start harassing 'em." Rick sighed loudly. "Hey, wasn't there something you wanted to talk about?" he said to Daryl as he passed into the kitchen for more beer.

"Uh, yeah. I guess so. Just don't know where to start." Daryl said, with pizza cheese hanging out of his mouth.

"Why don't you start with her name." T said.

"Her? It's a woman?" Rick said incredulously.

"Good Lord! Yes, it's a woman. Ya'll act like I wouldn't recognize one if I saw it. I do like women, ya know."

"Yeah, we know," said T, "but I don't think we've ever known one to like you. Or you to want to talk about one."

Daryl cleared his throat and took a swig from his beer. They were looking at him with anticipation and excitement, like they were two year olds and SpongeBob was about to sing them a song. "Her name is Yvonne. She has long, blond hair, dark brown eyes, soft lips and an amazing body."

"How do you know how soft her lips are?" Rick asked.

"Because I kissed her, dumbass."

"Big step for you man," T said as he wiped fake tears from his eyes. "Rick, our boy's growing up."

T and Rick laughed and Daryl threw his now empty of everything but wing bones plate at them. "Fuck both of ya! If ya'll are just gonna make fun of me, I'll take my beer and go home."

"Now, Daryl," Rick said in his best officer's voice, "We're not making fun of ya. We're just really happy. Tell us what happened."

While Daryl went into the kitchen to get more food and beer, he began to tell them all about her, what he knew anyway. He told them every detail about the night and how it ended. Rick and T just listened, not making any more comments. Both of them were stunned that a woman had been able to do this to their friend. Their friend who had experienced so much pain and humiliation in his life. Their friend who had never had an interest in a woman for more than one night, and even that was few and far between. They couldn't get over how happy he seemed. His eyes were bright and big and his smile was blinding. They both loved Daryl like a brother, and they would make sure he didn't fuck this up. They would make sure he got his happy ending.


	7. Chapter 7

WOW! Two updates in one day. Tomorrow is my birthday, so this is my present to you. Enjoy!

Chapter Seven

"Making Plans"

Damn! I hate waking up, especially Monday morning. I hadn't heard my alarm go off yet, so maybe I could get a little more rest. I got about two or three minutes in before I heard "Blood of Cu Chulainn" blaring through my phone. I know Michael heard it too. I could hear him moaning and groaning in his bedroom next door. I roll myself out of bed, almost literally, and grab my clothes for the day. As I walked into the hallway, I stopped at Michael's door. "You need in the bathroom ya better go now. I'm gonna take a shower." He climbed out of bed and walked down the hallway with his eyes closed. "Better open those eyes before you pee, boy. I ain't cleaning that up." A minute later, I hear the toilet flush and the door squeak on its hinges. He had his eyes open, but not focused. "Can I lay back down?" Michael whined as he walked passed me, back into his room. "Yeah. Gonna shower and get dressed. Then I'll come get you and start breakfast, okay?"

"Great mom. Thanks. I love you."

"Love you too, sweetie. Now sleep. Take advantage of my generosity."

I love hot showers. The hotter, the better. Steamy, leave red marks on your skin, hot showers. After I lost all that weight when I had pneumonia a couple years ago, I get chills in sixty degree weather. I just let the water run over me and warm me up before I started to wash. It was supposed to be a beautiful, warm, sunny day. Well, not too warm, in the seventies. I could deal with that. I supposed Daryl could deal with it too. Being outside all day has to be better this time of year. It's still hot during the fall here, but sometimes we luck out. I cut off the water and dried myself off. After putting on my uniform. I got the boy out of bed and went to go fix breakfast. This morning it's pancakes and bacon, the dream of diabetics and heart patients everywhere. Twenty minutes later, I was putting the food on the table as Michael walked in. He hands me a piece of paper and sits down to devour his nutritious breakfast. I take the paper, grab a cigarette and my coffee and go outside to the back porch. I light my smoke and take a sip of coffee before I read the note. A field trip, a weekend field trip actually. Both of the fifth grade classes are going camping next month. Wow, even he gets to go and I don't. I'm not volunteering for this one though. I sign it and put my cigarette out in the water bottle I keep by the chair. When I get back inside, Michael is gone, his plate clean. I snag a couple pancakes and some bacon and sit down.

When Michael reappears, he has his backpack and his lunch ready to go. "Did you sign it?"

"Yup."

"Are you going with us?"

"Nope."

"How come?"

"The idea of spending an entire weekend with forty ten year olds advances my age by decades, hon. My heart nor mind could handle it."

"You could hang with the girls."

"Not helping your case. Staying with a bunch of little girls, screaming and throwing glitter around isn't my idea of a good time either. Besides, if I were there, you wouldn't enjoy yourself. You'd be looking over your shoulder the whole time and wouldn't do the things you want to do. Now grab your stuff. I'm leaving."

When I got to the café an hour later, I noticed Beth and Amy were already there, setting everything up. "Hey girls. Been here long?"

"No, just about ten minutes," Beth said. "Zach's gonna be a little late though. He had to go back to his dorm room to take a shower and get dressed."

"How in the hell do you sneak him in and out of that house, Beth? Is your daddy blind and deaf?"

She giggled and said, "That house is one hundred sixty years old. It has its secrets."

"As long as those secrets don't cause some unsuspecting visitor to lose a cooking hand, I don't really want to know," I said.

Then I heard the backdoor open and close and saw Zack in the back getting out his baking equipment. He'd make a great chef one day. I always joked with Beth that at least it wouldn't be her responsibility to have dinner on the table every night. As the three of us began to set up the tables, Amy and Beth started talking about their weekend. They had spent it together along with Zack and Amy's boyfriend Gareth. I was hoping to avoid entry into this conversation, but couldn't.

"Did you have a good weekend Yvonne? You went for a girl's weekend, right?" Beth asked.

"Went to my friend Kay's house in Senoia. Went to a bar, met a guy. Normal stuff."

They both stopped in mid-swipe and just looked at me. Then, in sync, they began jumping up and down screaming their head off. Dancing around me like they were going to sacrifice me to the god of coffeehouse coffee. "Yvonne's got a boyfriend! Yvonne's got a boyfriend!" they sang over and over until Zack came out into the dining area. "What the hell are ya'll doing?"

"I met a guy," I said. "They're excited."

"Congratulation Vonne. You get laid yet?"

Goddamn that little punk! Smartass little dick! "None of your damn business Zachary!"

"That's a no, huh?" He smirks as he goes back into the kitchen.

"What's his name? What's he look like? What's he do?" They berated me with the same questions I endured Saturday night. We had about thirty minutes until the doors opened, so the three of us grabbed some coffee and sat down to talk. I told them everything that happened the night I met Daryl. From the borrowed lighter to the kiss in this truck. "Oh my God!" Amy said, "Has he called you yet?"

"No. I doubt he will. He's too good to want me. He can do so much better than a clingy, needy piece of shit with baggage."

"Yes, but he doesn't know that about you yet." Beth deadpans.

"You're real funny. Open the door so these fuckers can get their coffee," I said.

Three hours later and the place was almost empty from the morning rush. "I'm gonna go outside for a quick smoke," I told the girls and grabbed my phone going out to the back alley. I had one missed call, which I didn't recognize, and one voicemail. I lit my smoke and checked my message.

_"__Hey Yvonne. It's Daryl. Um, just realized you probably don't recognize this number since I didn't give you mine. Give me a call back when you can. Bye."_

Holy shit! He did call me. I hurriedly redialed his number. He answered after two rings.

"Hey Daryl. Sorry I missed your call. I'm working today and had my phone in my locker. I'm taking a break now and thought I'd check it."

"It's okay. Figured you'd be busy. Didn't think much of it. How are you?"

"Doing well. Tired already. You have a good weekend?"

"I met this really cool chick and I'm wondering when I can see her again."

"I'm sure she'd love to see you again too. You should ask her to lunch."

"With the bad weather coming this week, probably won't do much construction work. I could go to lunch just about any day."

"I'm off on Wednesday," I said. "Think I can fit you in. I could make us something and you could come to my house. Or, if you don't want to drive all that way, I could go to you or we can meet somewhere in between."

"I'll come pick ya up. Take ya somewhere. You can pick it. I really don't care where. I'll eat just about anything."

"Okay, I'll pick a place. If you're off all day, then maybe we could do something besides just lunch? It'd be a shame to drive all the way here just to turn back around and go home."

"All right, if ya wanna. You make the plans, I'll provide the transportation. Just text me your address and what time to be there."

"Sure. Probably not till tonight though. When I get home from work. That okay?"

"Yeah sure. I'll see ya then. Bye Yvonne. Looking forward to it."

"Bye Daryl. Me too."


	8. Chapter 8 In the Daylight

This is the first chapter of a two parter. I am going to post the second part as soon as I can. These should not be read separately. Well, they could, but you won't want to. Thank you for all the favs/follows and for all those who read. It means a lot to me. Comments would be great. Haven't got any of those yet. Enjoy!

Chapter Eight

In the Daylight- multi POV

After dropping Michael off at school, Yvonne raced home. She hadn't even decided what she was gonna wear on her lunch date. She tried not to get excited, but she just couldn't help it. Her head was really trying to win the race between it and her heart. She finally chose a simple pair of boot cut jeans and her Ramones t-shirt. After downing a bowl of cereal, cup of coffee and having a smoke, she headed for the shower.

Daryl woke up nervous that morning. He hardly slept thinking about his lunch date with Yvonne. He was excited to see her, but his mind kept telling him everything that could go wrong. He'd never gotten this far with a woman before, never wanted too, and he was shit at this. He'd have to talk to her, which was okay, but he didn't know how to do it with her. Women love to talk about stupid shit. Maybe he could just nod his head at the right time and just keep staring at her. No way, she would expect participation. He would want to participate, but God this is nerve-racking. When he got out of the shower, he checked his phone. She had sent him a text with her address and said to be at her house at eleven. He put the address in his phone's GPS and anxiously smoked a cigarette. He was about to jump out of his skin, so he decided to go ahead and leave. It was only ten, but there could be traffic, right?

Yvonne was trying to keep her mind busy until Daryl showed up. She had already unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher and swept the porch steps. Her watch said ten twenty and she wondered if Daryl was the type to be late or early. She sat on the couch and flipped through the TV stations until she heard a door slam. She stood up to peer out the front window and saw Daryl's truck in her driveway. He was standing outside leaning on the driver's side door smoking. He looked incredible. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt and black jeans and they made him look sexy. She just stood there watching for a while until he squished the smoke under his boot. She quickly moved from the window to the door to greet him. He stepped up to the door and knocked twice. She passed a mirror on her way to him, took a quick look and got her own approval. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

Daryl stuttered a bit when the door opened. Her hair flowed over her shoulders and shined in the small amount of sunlight shining. She ushered him inside and offered him a seat. "I wasn't sure if you'd be early or late. Uh, you want something to drink?" He shook his head no. The silence seemed to last forever. Then she looked at her watch. "It's almost eleven. We can leave now, if you want?"

"Sure. Where are we going?"

"A little coffee house/café in town. The food is good and the coffee is great and I know everybody that works there."

"Alright. Let's go," he said and we walked out the door to his truck. As we rode to the café, it began to rain. "Hope you didn't make outdoor plans."

"Well, actually, I had. But I also thought of something we could do if it rained. Maybe we could go to the movies or go back to my house and watch one. Whatever you want. Or, we could do something else."

"Movie's good. Your place or wherever, don't matter to me. We'll have a good time regardless. What were your outdoor plans?"

"There's a park down the road from the café. I thought we could go for a walk. There's a pond with ducks. Maybe we could have fed the ducks?"

"Sounds like a good idea. Maybe we still could, if it's not raining when we leave. Or we could just do it another time. This ain't gonna be the last time we see each other. There's lots of stuff I'd like to do with you," he said shyly. "There's gonna be a carnival in Senoia in a few weeks, maybe I could take you?"

"I love carnivals. I haven't been to one in years. That sounds like a lot of fun."

"Maybe I'll even win ya a prize. Something big and fluffy that you can carry around all night," he said smiling. He was amazed at himself. For feeling so self-conscious earlier, he was feeling very confident now. He'd never felt like this around a woman before. She was definitely some kind of special.

When we pulled into the café parking lot, it dawned on me that I hadn't told Amy or Beth that I was coming in on my day off, much less that I would be bringing someone with me. Hopefully, they would be big girls and wait till I came back to work to give me a hard time. Daryl held the door as we walked in. Knowing the place as well as I did, I had chosen the perfect time to be there and it not be busy. I saw Amy at the counter when we walked in. She looked up at us as the door chimed. I smiled at her and led Daryl to the front to place our order.

"Hey Yvonne!" Amy said, baring all her shiny teeth at me. "What are you doing in here today? I thought you'd be at home catching up on your sleep. Perfect day for that."

"Yeah, well, I had a better offer. This is Daryl, Daryl this is my friend Amy."

"Nice to meet you Amy," he said shyly, barely looking up at her. I tried to give her a look to say 'We can talk about this shit later. Just let us be for now'. Gratefully, she understood and asked for our order. We both got plain black coffee and the five cheese grilled cheese with chips. "I'll have Bethy bring it out when it's ready. I'll get your coffee." She poured the cups and we took them to a table in the back.

"So you come here a lot? It's a nice little place."

"I'm here at least five days a week. Sometimes six if someone calls in."

"You work here?"

"Yup. For about four years now. It's a good job. The girls aren't too bad if you can tune them out occasionally."

"So we get to eat for free or something? That why we came here?"

"Not free, but we'll get a good bit cut off the bill. That's the least they can do. I've covered their asses enough. Besides, they'll probably only ask for information in return for the food."

"What kind of information?" he asked.

"About you. Who are you? How did I meet you? Is it serious? Shit like that. They're gossipy hens and get excited when something new happens around here. Truth be told, I'm quite a topic of discussion with my friends right now."

"Why? You got something going on that nobody knows about?" he said with a smirk.

"I've got absolutely nothing going on. That's the point. Everyone I know is always trying to set me up with someone. Haven't dated in a while and I guess they're just concerned that I'm gonna end up the lonely cat lady." It was then that I looked up and saw Beth coming out of the kitchen with our food. She was grinning the entire way to our table. She paused looking at both of us before setting our plates down.

"Good to see ya Yvonne. Who's this ya got with ya?"

"Beth, this is Daryl. Daryl, this is Beth." If she even thinks about starting shit, she'll be calling in sick next week.

"Nice to meet ya Daryl," she said so sweetly.

"Hey Beth. Nice to meet ya," he said. He looked up at her as he spoke.

"Enjoy your lunch guys. Let me know if ya need anything," she said as she walked away.

"She seems pretty damn perky, doesn't she?" Daryl said as he took a bite of his sandwich.

"The consequences of being nineteen. She'll grow out of it, I hope." We smiled at each other as we ate our lunch and got refills on our coffee. Daryl finished his lunch before I did and just sat there silently watching me eat.

I just couldn't keep my eyes off of her. The way that t-shirt and jeans hug her hips and breasts just knocked the breath right outta me. I hope she didn't notice that I was staring at her tits the whole time, but I just couldn't stop myself. I just wanted to touch them so bad and I'm such a pervert creep for this. I sound like that douche bag Len. I had to get my mind and eyes on something else. "So, it's nice that you have friends that care about you, that want to see you happy."

"I can't fault them for that. I just wish they would let me handle it on my own. I can do it. I met you on my own, didn't I?"

"That you did, and I'm glad I met you. Never known a woman like you before. Those girls at the bar got no self-respect. They'll do anything with anyone for any reason. Can't be with women like that anymore. I'm real glad I met ya." Did I just fucking say that shit? Good God, she's gonna run all the way back to her house now.

"I'm glad I met you too Daryl. Been a long time since I had a man open doors for me or buy me dinner. It means a lot to me."

That Amy chick came over to the table and set the check down and left. I quickly picked it up before Yvonne could move. When I looked at it, I burst out laughing. Yvonne just looked at me confused and I handed the piece of paper to her. As she read, she began laughing too.

_He's hot Yvonne. No charge for ya'll's meal, just walk in front of him when ya leave so we can watch his ass go._

"I'll shake my ass for a free meal," I said as I started to calm down.

"Well, let's get out of here then so they can catch the show."

When she stood up, I got behind her, put my hand on her waist and pushed her toward the door. I looked over my shoulder and saw both Amy and Beth watching us. As I walked through the door, I stopped long enough to stick out my ass and shake it before the door closed.


	9. Chapter 9 In the Rain

Here is the second part of the previous chapter. Pretty quick, huh? I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I love writing it. Enjoy!

Chapter Nine

"In the Rain"

It was raining as we left the café and we ran to my truck laughing the whole way. When the truck doors closed, we were wet and breathless. I can't believe I've met a woman I can laugh with. A woman that I have fun with. We quickly decided that a movie at her house was the best plan. It started raining harder as we got closer to her home. We made a mad dash to the front door as soon as I put the truck in park. We looked like drowned rats dripping all over her floor.

"Wait here," she said and ran through the house. I shook myself like a dog and soon felt something hit me in the face. She had brought a towel for each of us. "Dry yourself and take your clothes off. I'll put our stuff in the dryer. I've got some clothes you can put on." Does she really want me naked in her bathroom? "Go, hurry! You're dripping everywhere. Give me a minute to change and I'll bring your clothes." I made my way down the hall and into the bathroom. I stripped off everything, even by boxers, and waited for Yvonne to bring dry clothes. I took a minute to look around. She had candles on the edge of the tub. I peeked through the curtain. She had strawberry scented shampoo. I popped the cap and took a whiff. I'd been perving all day, why stop now? I loved that smell. I wanted to bury my hands in her hair and smell it. A knock on the door startled me and I dropped the bottle." You okay in there?" she asked. "Yeah, just wasn't expecting a knock." She stuck her hand through the door and handed me a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. "Thanks," I said. "I'll be right out."

Good God, I thought. I've got a naked man in my bathroom. I imagined it for a second. Thought about going in there, but what would I do then? I haven't been with anyone in so long, I think I've forgotten what to do. He looked so good in those wet clothes. Hell, they looked good dry. The way those jeans hugged his ass, and other parts. When he came out of the bathroom, he had his wet clothes balled up and handed them to me. As he rubbed a towel over his still dripping hair, he said, "They're still a little drippy."

"That's fine," I replied. "I'm just gonna throw everything into the dryer for a while. Just go sit in the living room. Pick out a movie if ya want. I'll be back in a minute." When I got back to the living room, Daryl was looking through my DVD's. "Find anything ya like?"

"Um, yeah, I think so. I never seen is one, but Merle has. Said it was pretty good, lots of violence." He showed me the cover, _Boondock Saints._

"Good choice. It's one of my favorites. Never would have seen it if it weren't for my. . . "I hesitated. I can't say it, not yet anyway. "This guy I used to know. Had a hard on for action flicks. Convinced me to watch this one with him. One of the character is like that too. Kinda reminds me of him."

"We don't have to watch it if you don't wanna," Daryl said sadly. "I can pick out something else."

"No. I love this movie. It's been a long time and it doesn't make me think about him anymore." I took it from him and put it in the DVD player. As we sat back on the couch, I looked at the time. It was only twelve thirty, plenty of time before I would have to leave to pick up Michael. I could tell Daryl was enjoying the movie. He moved closer to me on the couch and put his arm around the back of it, not touching me, but close. Soon, and without comprehension, I was leaning in toward him, our shoulders barely touching. Although I've seen it a million times, this scene always startles the shit out of me. The damn cat. It startled Daryl too. When the gun went off, we both jumped. His arm moved from the couch and wrapped around me as I almost jumped directly into his lap. Then he started laughing when he realized what had happened. I was a little embarrassed and tried to move away, but he didn't release me. We just looked at each other for a minute before his hand cupped my cheek. He leaned in toward me while pulling my face to his. Our lips met just as they had the other night. Only this time our lips moved together. His tongue swept over mine and I opened my mouth slightly. He took advantage and pushed his tongue into my mouth. He took his time with it, but still it was too short. When he pulled away, my eyes were still closed. I didn't want to open them, afraid of what I'd see.

I relished the softness of her lips. Never felt anything so soft. I wondered if the rest of her felt like silk too. I kissed her till I couldn't breathe. When I separated my lips from her's, she hadn't opened her eyes yet. She looked like a fucking angel. Beautiful, peaceful and content. When her eyes opened, I panicked. "I'm sorry," I said quietly, feeling embarrassed.

"Please don't apologize. If you are truly sorry that happened, I think it would kill me," she said, just as quietly. I kissed her again and she kissed me back with passion. I put my hands on her waist and pulled her fully on top of me, straddling me. I was starting to get hard, but was too distracted to be ashamed of it. My lips left her mouth and trailed down across her jawline to beneath her ear and down her neck. She leaned her head to the side giving me better access. I licked and nibbled my way down to her shoulder and she started moaning and rocking her hips against mine. My brain was in a haze and I heard her say my name over and over again. I felt her push me away, but still didn't register what was going on. I was breathing heavy and could barely hear her talking. Then I heard her say, "Can't do this." That snapped me back to reality.

"What?"

"We can't do this Daryl. I can't do this. It's too soon. I'm sorry."

"If I'm not allowed to apologize, then you can't either. I don't feel sorry for what I done. Only if you didn't want it."

"I haven't been kissed in almost four years. Even longer than that for a good one. I lost control. But I'm not sorry, truly I'm not. I don't want to embarrass you or make you feel uncomfortable. I don't want to disgust you."

"Disgust me? How in the hell would you do that? You're the most beautiful woman I've ever known. You're an angel." I thought she was gonna cry when I said that. She turned her head away from me and suddenly shot up and off me. Shit! I was still hard. I know she could feel it, but I didn't want her to see it.

"I didn't know it had gotten so late. There's somewhere I gotta be at three." I looked at the clock on the wall that said it was two fifty. "It's okay. As long as it's not across town, you'll be fine," I said as I grabbed her wrist to calm her down. "Where ya gotta go? I can drive ya."

Well damn, I thought. This day couldn't get any more awkward than it already is, until just now. How do I tell him I have a son that I have to pick up from school? "I have to go to the middle school," I said.

"Okay," he said. "I'll take you, just give me a minute." He went into the bathroom and came back out in under a minute flat. I don't know what he did, but he was less aroused when he came back. "Let's go," he said and headed out the door. We arrived at the school with three minutes to spare.

"Thank you for driving me here. You didn't have to. I appreciate it."

"Well, it's half my fault you was running late," was all he said.

"He won't recognize your truck, so I'm just gonna stand outside the door so he'll see me. " I got out and closed the door before he could say a word. My heart was racing again, but for a different reason. This time it wasn't excitement, this was fear of rejection.


	10. Chapter 10 A Moment of Truth

Chapter Ten

"A Moment of Truth"

When Michael came out of the building, I waved to him. He was looking around for me and finally looked my way. I started walking toward him hoping to intercede before he reached the truck. I wanted to explain the situation. I hugged him tightly and gave him a kiss on the head. "Hey sweetie. You have a good day?"

"Yeah. How come you're not waiting in the car?"

As we walked to Daryl's truck, I tried to explain. "I didn't bring the car. A friend of mine drove me here. A new friend."

"Who is she?"

"Not a she sweetheart, a he. His name is Daryl and I met him when I was at Kay's last weekend."

"Okay, so, is he your boyfriend?"

"Um, no. Just a friend. Be nice to him Michael. He's a good guy."

We got to the truck and I got him in the backseat. Daryl looked over his shoulder as I took his backpack and opened the passenger side door. I closed it and reminded Michael to put on his seatbelt. I glanced over at Daryl and said, "This is my son, Michael. Michael, this is Daryl."

"Your new friend?" Michael asked.

"Yes, honey."

"Nice to meet ya kid," Daryl said and started the engine. It was quiet on the way home. When we entered the house, I heard the dryer ding. I had forgotten about our wet clothes. I was still so nervous. Daryl hadn't said a word since he greeted my son, hadn't even looked at me. Michael put his backpack on the couch and went into his room to change clothes. Daryl came up behind me, but didn't touch me.

"He's a cute kid. Bet he's got a lot of girlfriends."

I turned around and saw him smiling. Is that a good sign? "I'm sorry you had to find out like that. I wanted to see if there was a reason to tell you before I said anything."

"I don't care that ya got a kid," he said and moved closer to me. "I was surprised, but not mad, if that's what ya think. If he's yours, he can't be too bad. I bet you're a great mom."

"Thank you Daryl. I was a little anxious when I realized that you'd be meeting him today. That was unexpected."

"No worries Yvonne. He's not gonna run me off. If you want me to stay, I'll stay. I ain't gonna let go of whatever this is just because ya got a kid." Michael came walking into the kitchen and asked about dinner.

"Haven't really thought about it. What would you like?" I said.

"Can we order pizza? Daryl likes pizza, right? You're staying for dinner Daryl, okay."

"That's up to your mom, bud," he said unsure of himself.

"You can stay, if you want. If you're not sick of me already."

He looked at me between long strands of shaggy hair and said, "Never."

Michael tried to get Daryl to play one of his zombie video games with him. Daryl had never played a lot of video games, but he relented, and ended up kicking Michael's ass. "If there's ever a zombie apocalypse, I'm hiding behind Daryl," he said.

"There won't be room for the both of us," I said. "You fend for yourself." Daryl thought that was funny. "Don't worry buddy. I'd protect both of ya. Wouldn't let anything happen to you or your mom," he said and winked at Michael. When nine thirty rolled around, I sent Michael to bed. He didn't want to go, of course, but gave in after Daryl promised to give him a chance to redeem himself in the zombie apocalypse.

When Michael was asleep, Daryl and I went outside for a smoke. "I think he likes you," I said quietly.

"I like him. He seems to be a lot like you; sweet, kind, cute."

"I don't know what to say Daryl. It's been a long time since I've heard nice things like that. Well, that sounded sincere anyway."

"I mean it Yvonne," he said and took a step closer to me, backing me against the brick wall. "You're kind, beautiful, smart and an awesome mom. Wish my mom could have been more like you."

"Daryl, you're gonna give me a complex if you don't stop. This is just me. I've tried to change, but I can't."

"Why would you want to change? That your choice, or someone want to change you? Only an idiot wouldn't see how great you are."

I felt his eyes on me, then his hand on my neck pulling me to him. He hesitated, looking for approval he didn't need. I looked into his eyes, dark and wanting, wondering if mine looked the same. I barely nodded my head and his lips attached to mine. It was slow, but hungry. I didn't lie to him, it had been about four years since I'd been kissed properly, and now I've had three toe curling kisses in one day. My heart was beating in my throat. His tongue swept over my lips and caressed my mouth. His hand grabbed my hips and pulled me into him. My arms went around his neck. I would soon pass out from lack of oxygen, but I didn't care. Finally, we separated. His lips were red and swollen as mine were also, I assumed. He put his forehead to mine still holding tight to my hips. Breathing heavily, he said, "Gotta go. I'll call you. I'll text you. I promise I'll see you before I take Carol and Sophia camping."

"Okay," is the only word I could muster the energy to say? He slowly released his grip on me and kissed my forehead. I watched him walk to the truck and get in. We briefly looked at each other before he pulled out of the driveway and I watched him leave.

Goddamn! I cannot be in love with her! I kept saying that to myself the whole way home. By the time I got there, I knew that I was. I was already falling in love with her. No one had ever been as nice and good to me as she has been. Everyone I'd ever gotten close to or cared about had hurt me, both physically and emotionally, or left me. I won't let that happen again. This feels different, this feels good. She makes me feel confident, makes me feel good about myself. She has no reason whatsoever to spend time with me, but she did. She let me touch her, kiss her and she kissed and touched me back. I'm not gonna let this go bad, I can't. It would kill me.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Just a quick message to my guest reviewer Laurie. Thank you for the kind words. I know it may be rushed a bit, and I've tried to avoid that. But, let's face it, if you met Daryl Dixon, you'd have a hard time keeping yourself in check too. You are right, we will learn about Michael's dad and they will have sex, eventually. As for how much story is left, I think there is enough. There will be conflict, of course. You can't have Shane, Merle, Joe and Len in a story and there not be conflict. Our hero and heroine will be fine though, I'm not the kind of writer that can easily torture her characters. Well, maybe a little emotional torture. Also, there will be a secret familial relationship revealed. I am trying to develop a relationship and all the doubt and fear that goes with that. Please don't hesitate to let me know how I'm doing. But enough of the spoilers. Let's just have a good read, shall we? I hope you enjoy! I

Chapter Eleven

"Being alone in the damn woods gives you too much time to think"

In the last week and a half, Daryl and Yvonne had called and text each other about a billion times, or so it seemed. Every morning when they woke up, every night before they went to sleep and during the day just to say 'Hi'. They had seen each other only once. They met Kay and her fiancé Chris for dinner one night. Kay had given her approval and told Yvonne that if she didn't lay him soon the poor boy looked like he would explode. Not if she didn't explode first, Yvonne replied. They were still shy around each other, to a point. Both seemed unsure of themselves in certain situations. Neither assumed anything about the other. Yvonne was waiting for the other shoe to drop. This couldn't possibly be real and surely would end soon. Daryl was also waiting for the end to come. He prayed every morning to have her in his life one more day. Both were afraid to talk about it, scared it would jinx them. He knew how he felt about her, he had come to terms with that, but he told no one. He's pretty sure that Rick and T-Dog knew, but, gratefully they didn't bring it up. They would ask about Her, not Them. Daryl appreciated that; he wouldn't have known what to say. Merle suspected something, but didn't know anything for a fact. He'd been talking to the boys about it too. Speculating on what he was doing on his phone all the time. Why he don't seem to listen or pay attention as well as he used to. He was distracted by the thought of her, and he thought about her all the time. He saw her every time he closed his eyes.

He really regretted telling Sophia and Carl he would take them camping. When Daryl had asked Rick and Lori about it, they had nearly knocked him over with consent. They would get Lori's mom to watch Judith and have a weekend to themselves. He wouldn't back out of this for them, they really hadn't had a lot of time together since little asskicker was born. But, he was thinking about what he could be doing instead. Maybe he would talk to her this weekend, but there was no way he would see her. Next weekend was a big one for her. She has family coming in from Tennessee for the weekend. Probably wouldn't see her then either. He decided that after all this was over and they both had the time, he would take her camping.

He was supposed to pick up Carol and Sophia at three o'clock on Friday and then go to Rick's to pick up Carl. The drive was about an hour and filled with noise. He and Carol tried to have a conversation, but the two in the back made that impossible. He just sucked it up and drove on. When they got to the campsite, the first thing he did was put the kids to work. He made them put the tents together. There was a moment when he thought that they had killed them dead, the tents that is. They looked twisted and broken, but with Daryl's gentle guiding, they were put together properly. The whole time, Carol was trying to get valuable information out of him. She knew he was still seeing that girl he had brought into the diner that night, but he wouldn't talk about it. Probably because he had been with Merle and the boys every time he had come in. Daryl liked to practice self-preservation.

"I know you're dying to say something Daryl. You know way too much about me to not feel comfortable. Just spit it out. I could help you maybe?" she said, trying to take his attention away from the tents for the moment.

"Maybe you can. I don't know where to go from here. Never dated anyone or had a girlfriend or anything like that. I think I'm kinda stuck. I'm afraid I'm gonna do the wrong thing. I'm trying to keep all this from Merle and his boys. I don't want her anywhere near them. I don't want anyone near her but me. Shit! I'm in so goddamn deep with this. I'm scared I'm moving too fast. I'm scared that she's gonna see how worthless I am."

"You are not worthless Daryl Dixon. You have more value than any man I've ever known. You saved mine and Sophia's lives, remember? You got us away from Ed. I will owe you the rest of my life for that. And how do you know she doesn't feel the same way? Has she told you much about herself? Anything about her past?"

"Not really. She has a son, he's pretty cool. I know she hasn't dated in a while. Told me she hadn't been kissed in four years. I haven't really thought about that kinda shit. I mean, I have, the kid's dad, ya know? Where is he? What happened? I think she almost mentioned him the first time I was at her house. Should I ask her about it?"

"No. She'll tell you when she's ready. Have you told her anything about you?"

"Hell no! She don't want to hear about that. That'd ruin everything," he said, disgusted by the thought.

"You don't know much about her Daryl. What if she told you something horrible had happened to her? What if she was like me?" Carol desperately tried to get him to understand what this woman may need from him. If he could understand that, if he could comprehend what that would mean for him, then maybe they could help each other. "Are you in love with her?"

He exhaled sharply, "I think so. Not sure what this is, but I cannot stop thinking about her. I think I could have a real life with her, a real family. I know this is happening pretty fast, but my head is full of this. If she's like you, if she's been through something like that, I wouldn't care. I could help her. I could be there for her. I'd try like hell, but how do I get her to trust me? I know she's not ready for something serious. She's not ready to give herself to me, and truth be told, I'm still hesitant about that myself. I'm scared Carol; scared that I'm gonna get hurt, scared that I'm making bad decisions and scared I'm gonna hurt her. She makes me feel good about who I am. I feel comfortable around her. We laugh together. I forget who I am when I'm with her. What if she's just using me Carol? I'd fucking die. How do I get her to love me like that?"

Carol patiently listened to Daryl's concerns as she mulled it over in her head. She would help him with this. She owed him her life, the least she could do for this amazing, selfless man is help him find the love he so desperately wanted and needed. "I think I know how to help you Daryl. You should bring her to my house for dinner, her son too, he could meet Sophia. And bring Merle too if ya want. You'll need moral support and even though you might not think it, your brother loves you. He may not know about all the things you've been through, but he knows you've suffered because of his dumbass. He wants to make up for that, let him. He'll support you. Anyway, I'd like to get to know her. Any woman who can tie Daryl Dixon in a knot, is a special one. I can't live the rest of my life without knowing that kind of girl."

"I'll ask her when we get back to the city. I'm sure she'll say yes. She's that kinda woman. She's always trying to do things for me. She says she wants me to be happy," he said and smiled.

"Well, she's doing a good job at that, I think. And think about it Daryl, if she's making that much of an effort, she feels something for you."

Daryl didn't say anything else. He'd been doing nothing but thinking about this. He'd come to so many conclusions about what was going on, he couldn't keep anything straight. Now, he had a lot more to think about. He kept going from hopeful to doubtful and it was driving him crazy. Finally he just stood up and offered Carol his hand helping her stand. He announced that they had just enough time to maybe get some rabbit for dinner and told Carl and Sophia to get ready to head out, that he'd give them a quick tracking lesson. That night, as he laid in the tent he was sharing with Carl, he thought back to what Carol had said. If Yvonne had suffered, he knew what that was like. It hurt him so much to think that anyone had put their hands on her or her boy in anger. He was gonna find out the truth and help her heal, just like she was helping him.


	12. Chapter 12 Lying by the side of the road

A/N Just a quick thank you for all the favs and follows. Some might consider this filler, but a very important meeting happens in this chapter that will fuel future chapters. Also, I am starting a new story, co-writing with DarylDixon'sLover. I will probably post chapter one tonight or tomorrow. Keep an eye out for it. So, grab a snack and a nice cup of coffee and let's do story time, shall we?

Chapter Twelve

Lying by the side of the road

Yvonne had been thinking about Daryl all weekend. She hadn't heard from him in two days. She didn't expect to, but she missed it all the same. She had plenty to fill her time, but not her mind. She knew she was getting in deep with this emotionally and that scared her. She tried to reason with herself. She tried to convince herself that it wasn't real, that she felt this way because she hadn't been around a man in so long. She tried to convince herself that she could do this, a relationship with Daryl, if he wanted that. She would be willing to give herself to that. She doubted that is what he wanted from this though. Then she thought she would be able to deal with that, if he didn't want a relationship. If she was ever ready and willing to be with him, she knew that would be the end. She wasn't very good at the sex thing. David had told her that enough times. She wouldn't be able to please Daryl, and he would bolt. But he doesn't seem like that kind of man, she kept telling herself. She was so afraid to bring it up. She wasn't good at talking about her feelings, it always seemed that there weren't any words that did them justice, so she just didn't.

She was too preoccupied with her thoughts that morning to notice that her car was losing speed. She was struggling to make it over the smallest hill and dips in the road. Finally, she pulled over on the side when she realized her car was stressed. She knew very little about cars, David had always taken care of that. He knew them inside and out. She was afraid to make the little Sonata move if it was so unwilling. Daryl would know what to do, she'd call him. First though, she had to call the café and let them know she would be late. After she did that, she dialed Daryl's number. He was on the construction site, but told her he would call T-Dog and get him to tow it back to his garage. He would look at it after he left work. So, sitting back to wait for this T-Dog guy, her thoughts returned to Daryl. She wanted so badly to see him again. She had desired him so much that she had done something that she hadn't in a long time. Saturday night, after Michael had gone to sleep, she got into the box at the top of her closet. She had a small collection of toys that she had kept from her time with David. She brought out Mac and dusted him off. Even though it did the job, she couldn't help but wonder how much better it would have been if it had been Daryl inside her instead of a stupid, overpriced piece of plastic.

Lost in her thoughts, she did not notice the police cruiser pull up behind her. She was thrown from her contemplations by a knock on her window. She rolled it down and greeted the officers. "Good morning, ma'am. You having car trouble?"

"Yeah, I've got a tow truck on the way."

"Well, it's a slow crime day today. Let my partner and I keep ya company while you wait. Don't want anything to happen to a pretty lady."

"Thank you. That would be fine," Yvonne said. Such a charmer, she thought sarcastically. She noticed their squad car said Senoia Sherriff Department. "If you guys are from Senoia, what are you doing out of county?"

"Overnight transfer to the Woodbury Police Station. One of your locals thought he could hide out with us, but we said no. I'm Deputy Shane Walsh. This is my partner, Deputy Rick Grimes."

"I'm Yvonne Bradley. It's nice to meet you."

When Rick heard her introduce herself, he wondered if she was Daryl's Yvonne. Had to be, not many of those around here. He didn't say anything though, he wasn't sure if Daryl had mentioned him or not. She didn't show any recognition when she heard his name. He walked toward her to shake her hand. "So, how long ago you call for the tow?" he asked.

"About ten minutes. Oddly enough, it's coming from Senoia too. I have a friend who is a mechanic and he's getting it towed to the shop he works at. Should be here in about twenty minutes or so." She made small talk with Rick and Shane, but stayed where she was. Shane kept edging his way closer to her, leaning against her car. Rick stayed where he was, closer to the cruiser, watching Shane. If she's Daryl's woman, and he was pretty sure she was, he wasn't letting Shane touch her. Exactly twenty minutes later, the tow truck pulled to the side in front of Yvonne's car. T-Dog got out and made his way over to the three waiting for him with a huge smile on his face. He walked right up to Rick and gave him a powerful pat on the back. "Didn't expect to see you here, man. What are you doing in this neck of the woods?"

"My partner, Shane, and I, had an overnight drop off at the station here. Just happened to be driving by on our way out and saw Ms. Bradley here on the side of the road and thought we'd stop to help."

"Well, alright then. Let's get this baby loaded up." T walked over to Yvonne and held his hand out. "It's good to meet you Yvonne. I've heard so many wonderful things about you from Daryl. You are just as beautiful as he said you are."

She blushed at this. The thought that Daryl had talked about her to his friend made her wonder what this stranger knew about her. "Thank you," she said and looked over at Shane and Rick. Rick had a smile on his face, but Shane looked pissed for some reason.

"How about we give you an escort to the garage, T?" Rick said. And T agreed. He helped Yvonne into the cab of the truck and let the cruiser pass him before he pulled out. "What exactly has Daryl said about me?" she asked hesitantly.

"Just about the same thing over and over again. How beautiful you are, how kind and funny you are. He really likes your boy too. Says a lot of nice things about him. I've known Daryl and Rick since high school and we've never heard him talk about a woman the way he talks about you."

"Rick's in on this too? If he knew who I was, why did he let that man whore get near me?"

T laughed at that. "Rick would never have let Shane touch you. Daryl would shoot an arrow in his ass. From what I hear about him, he's a smooth talker. If he had made you uncomfortable or gotten out of line, Rick would have stopped him. I guarantee that."

The rest of the ride was silent. At one point, Rick and Shane veered to the left and T kept going straight. About two blocks later, he turned into the parking lot. He helped me out of the truck and took me to a waiting room, fully stocked with old magazines, vending machines and a television displaying snow. He asked me to wait there while he detached my car and got it inside the garage. While I was waiting for him to come back, my phone buzzed at me telling me I had a text.

_T get there yet? D_

_Yes. We just got to the shop. Got to meet Rick and Shane today too. Y_

_Good. T will either drive you to work, or you can sit at the shop. He won't care wither way. Just let me know what you decide. D_

_Okay. I'll text you later. Thanks again. You saved me. Y_

_Anything for you. Talk to ya later. D_

T came back into the waiting room and told me he had my car all set up for Daryl to look at it when he got there. He asked me if I needed a ride to work and I told him yes. He loaded me into his pick up and we were off. He told me that Daryl would probably want to pick me up from work, but I should call or text him about it. Because I was two hours late for work, I decided to stay late, also with Daryl taking the time to look at my car tonight and then driving to pick me up, it would be late before I could leave anyway. I text Daryl to tell him I was at work. He text me back and said that he would come get me and take me home. He would call me when he left the garage so I would be ready to go when he got there.

The day went by very slowly. I guess it always does when you want it to end quickly, but finally it was closing time. It was six o'clock and I was sweeping the floor when my phone rang.

"Hey darlin'. How are ya?"

"Tired and ready to go home. How are you?"

"I'm good. Missed you this weekend."

"I missed you too. I'll fix us some coffee and grab us something to eat on the way to the house, Okay?"

"Sounds good darlin'. I should be there in about twenty minutes. Not a lot of traffic tonight. I should make good time."

"Alright. Just be careful. I'll see ya soon."

"See ya soon. Bye."

"Bye Daryl."

After we hung up, I quickly finished sweeping and put the coffee on. I grabbed some Danish left from this morning and put them in a bag. When the coffee was ready, I filled two cups and cleaned the machine. Daryl pulled into the parking lot as I was locking the door. He parked and got out, walking over to help me carry my stuff.

"Let me help. I'll take the coffee. Don't want to risk spilling it."

"Thanks, you have perfect timing. You're always there when I need you," I said feeling a little awkward.

"I've already told you, I'd do anything for you. It's no burden to be there when you need someone or something," he said, a little awkward himself. "Looked at your car. Ya got hole in your transmission. T's gonna order a new one and I'm gonna put it in for you. Might take a week, maybe less, but I'll take ya to work and pick ya up if ya need it."

"Thank you. You don't have to do that. It's too much to ask you to drive all that way and then go to work. I can get a ride from Amy or Beth. They don't live far and they already offered. I'm off tomorrow anyway, so we don't have to worry about it yet."

"I don't mind. Told ya, it's no burden. I'd love to be able to do that for ya if ya need me too."

"Well, we'll talk about it. If I can get it covered, then you can do something else for me that I might need." I realized how that sounded. I turned beet red, but thank God it was too dark for Daryl to see it. "I mean, there might be something more important I'll need from you." Shit! I just can't get this right. I looked over and he was smirking. "I just mean…"

"I know what you mean, Yvonne. Don't get flustered." He laughed lightly at my predicament. "So, what's in the bag?"

"We had some Danish left over from this morning. I took some for us. You like Danish?"

"Yup. Especially the cheese ones. Got any of those in there?"

"I think they're all cheese." Then we pulled into the driveway. "I have to run next door and get Michael. Take my keys and let yourself in. I'll be back in a minute." On the days that I had to work, Michael would ride the bus home and stay with his friend, Caleb, who lived next door. When I went to get him, I asked Caleb's mom if she could take him to school with her for the next few days till I got my car fixed. She was more than happy to do it. He was disappointed that I wouldn't be taking him, but was happy that I had brought home Danish, and Daryl. When we got inside, Daryl was in the kitchen plating up food for everyone. "Hope ya don't mind I got into your cabinets. Thought I could have everything ready when you got back."

"Thank you. Think I brought enough home? Everyone is starving."

"Yeah, ya got plenty. Hey kid, how was school today?"

"Good," Michael replied. "Did my homework at Caleb's house. Can I watch some t.v. tonight?"

"Sure," I said. "Just don't make a mess." He grabbed a plate ad poured a glass of milk and went into the living room. Daryl and I took our plates and coffee and sat at the table. "You're coming over for dinner tomorrow night. No excuses. I don't take 'no' for an answer. You like lasagna?"

"Yup, I sure do, and I'd love to have dinner with you." He paused and looked into his coffee. "I really did miss you this weekend. Didn't even have enough bars to send you a text. Thought about you a lot."

"I missed you too. Thought about you a lot. Did you have a good time? Everybody have fun?"

"Yup. Took Rick's son with us too. He's been trying to get me to teach him how to use my crossbow, but his arms are still too short. Gave the kids some lessons in tracking, showed 'em how to prepare a rabbit and went on a hike."

"Wish I could do that. Sounds like so much fun, even the rabbit part. I would love to learn how to skin and prepare one. Never know when you're gonna need that kinda knowledge."

"I want us to go camping before it gets too cold. Maybe after your family leaves? The weekend after if there's good weather. Michael can come too, I'm sure he'd love it."

I got up to look at the calendar. That would be the same weekend of his field trip. "Well, his class is going on a field trip that weekend. They just happen to be going camping too. It would just be us. I don't have any equipment, no tent or anything, so I'd have to buy that stuff."

"No need for that. I got tents, but I was thinking about taking ya to the cabin. My grandfather had a hunting cabin. Merle and I spent most of our summers there. He left it to us, we share it. There's a little creek 'bout a half a mile away, it's real nice."

"That sounds beautiful. I'd love to go camping with you. Thank you, Daryl. Thank you for remembering that I wanted to go camping."

"Been trying to plan it since you mentioned it. Was hoping we'd make it long enough for us to go. By the way, Carol invited us to dinner this week, wants ya to bring Michael too. Told her I'd ask when I saw ya."

"Sure. What night? You could pick me up from work and we could go."

"I'll call her and find out." He stood up from the table and took his phone out of his pocket. I put the dishes in the washer and motioned that I was going to check on Michael. When I got back to the kitchen, he was still on the phone. "Is Wednesday okay for you?"

"Wednesday is great. Tell her thanks for inviting us." He spent another minute on the phone before hanging up. I was standing by the dishwasher putting Michael's in when he came up behind me and put his arms around my waist. He took one hand and moved the hair from my neck and buried his lips there. "I want a kiss before I leave," he whispered against my skin.

I turned around to face him. "You don't have to leave. You can get up early and go home."

He just ducked his head, "You're not ready for this. I'm not ready for this. Besides, your son is here. Wouldn't be right. Just a kiss is good enough for now." I stood on my tip toes and touched his lips with mine. It was slow, but didn't last long enough. He held my bottom lip between his teeth as he pulled away. "You're so fucking amazing. I'll text you when I get home." He walked to the door and looked back at me before he walked out.


	13. Chapter 13 The Talk

A big thank you to all my followers and those who have favorited. **eliqueen, tmlodes, kyzhart, xAmandaxXxPandax, anji1504, Valli29, nellhope, moritura, and GirlIncognito99.** I appreciate all of you and hope you like this chapter. It is a short one, but, I think, a good one. It's all Daryl and Merle. As always, please let me know how I'm doing. Now, put on those bunny slippers and relax. It's story time.

Chapter Thirteen

The Talk

Damn! It almost physically hurt to walk away from her. He was hard and struggled to walk to his truck without giving it away. When he got in, he slammed the door in frustration. He sat there for a couple of minutes watching as she turned off all the lights and headed to her bedroom. He wondered what it looked like, if it was girly or not. When his phone rang, he jumped out of his seat. He didn't recognize the number, but answered it anyway. And he regretted it.

"Hey baby brother! Where you at? Called home and you weren't there."

"Had to go to the garage after work. Why the hell you calling me?"

"I'm in a bit of a bind. Need ya to come bail my ass out."

"What the fuck you do Merle?"

"Nothing big. They calling it assault, but the guy walked away on both legs, so I'm just calling it a misunderstanding. Your buddy Rick brought me in. Want me to tell him his boyfriend says 'Hi'?

"Fuck you Merle. I'll be there as soon as I can. Don't do nothing until I get there. Just sit still and keep your pie hole shut."

Rick met me outside when I got to the station. "Shane had a field day with this. He's ready to send him off to West Georgia Correctional. Almost beat the shit out of each other before we got Merle handcuffed and in the car."

"Great," Daryl sighed. "What the hell did he do?"

"Beat the piss out of some poor Asian kid. Merle was drunk or high or both. Kid's in college and delivers pizzas. Apparently, Merle's order was wrong."

"So what's gonna happen to him?"

"He's being released on bail and is scheduled for court next week. Assault charges, just gotta get the kid to come in and make a statement, if he's willing. Len and Joe got in some good hits too. They're back there with Merle, sharing a cell. Be careful going back there. Anyone comes to claim those guys is gonna hafta deal with Shane, he's still on a rampage."

"I can deal with Shane, don't worry. I hear you met Yvonne today."

"Yep. You're right Daryl. She is a beautiful woman. You're very lucky."

"I think I am too."

Rick walked him into the station and to the desk where he would pay Merle's bail. As he waited for him to be released, he began to worry. He'd half to tell Merle about Yvonne if he was going to agree to go to Carol's. When Shane escorted Merle through the doors, both their mouths were flapping at each other, trying to outdo the other in volume. Shane handed Merle over to Rick to finish the process and walked up to Daryl slowly.

"So you're the famous Daryl Dixon. Heard your name too many times today. You better keep an eye on your brother. Something bad could happen to him if he's not careful. Oh, and I met another one of your friends today. Best keep an eye on her too. Smart girl like her won't be around your druggie ass long. Better man'll come find her." He didn't give Daryl a chance to respond, just winked at him and walked away.

Daryl almost punched him in the fucking face. He couldn't because he was in the fucking police station. He just grabbed his brother and left. As he passed Rick, he said, "I'll kill his ass if he even looks at her." Once in the truck, Merle starts talking, asking what took him so long to get there if he was at the garage.

"Wasn't at the garage when you called, dipshit. I had to drive from Woodbury."

"How come you there? Making a deal?"

"Fuck no Merle! Goddamn you know I don't do that shit!" he paused and thought. "There's something I need to ask you though and after tonight, you can't say no."

"I'd never say no to you baby brother. You save my ass every time. I owe you," Merle said quietly.

"I'm going to Carol's for dinner Wednesday night, need you to come with."

"Aw hell no! You ain't getting' me to go over there. She's crazy!"

"She ain't crazy! She's been through a lot of shit, you know that. She's a good woman who gave your ass a chance till you fucked up."

"I know I did. She ain't never gonna forgive me neither. That ship has sailed baby brother."

"Probably has, but I'm not asking for you. I need you to be there for me." Daryl paused and carefully contemplated his next words. "Merle, I met somebody and Carol's gonna help me. She's gonna help me not fuck this up. She wants to meet her and her son and you're gonna be there for me. You better not be drunk or high either. I'll stomp your ass."

Merle didn't say a thing. He just sat there trying to find words. "She's got a kid, huh. You know that's a trap Darlina. She's gonna take your balls and you'll never get anything in return. But, if you're okay with that, if that'll make you happy, then I'll go. Want to meet the woman that's gonna take you away from me."

"She ain't gonna take me away Merle," he said as they pulled up to the trailer. Neither made a move to get out. "You're my brother. I could never leave you. Don't ask me to choose either, because I won't. Need both of ya. Just be my big brother for once and don't scare her off. I really like her." They climbed out of the truck and went inside. Daryl went straight to his room and closed the door, leaving Merle in the living room to reflect on the night.


	14. Chapter 14 The Spanish Inquisition

Chapter 14

The Spanish Inquisition

That night, when Daryl got to Yvonne's house, he was bearing flowers. Just a hodge podge of wildflowers, but they were beautiful. She had just put the lasagna in the oven and was making a salad. Daryl spent the next forty-five minutes playing zombies with Michael and in a show of mercy, let the boy win. Dinner was amazing, Daryl was really starting to get used to this. He'd never had a woman cook for him like this, well, except Carol, but this was different. Speaking of Carol. . . "My brother's gonna be going with us to Carol's tomorrow night. Hope you don't mind."

"Of course not. She invited him, right? Are they trying to get back together?"

"I don't know. She's good for him. Only person to ever keep him in line, but he screwed up bad and I don't know if she'll take him back," Daryl said sadly.

"Tomorrow is gonna be a good night. We're all gonna have a good time, right Michael?"

"Yeah, sure," Michael replied, sounding dejected.

"She's got a daughter," Daryl said. "Her name's Sophia. She's real cute. You'll like her, she's nice. She's excited to meet both of ya. Soph's twelve, but older women are cool. They know stuff."

"If you think she's cute, then, okay. Maybe it won't be so bad. I just don't wanna get stuck playing with Barbies or something."

"Soph's an outdoor girl. She's a tomboy. You'll have fun."

After dinner, Daryl helped Yvonne clean up while Michael finished his homework. When he left, he held her tight and kissed her. "Don't be nervous about tomorrow night. You'll do just fine. Everybody will love you," he said and drove home. Now all he had to do was keep himself calm. Sometimes Merle worried the shit outta him.

The next night, Daryl and Merle pulled into the café just as Yvonne was walking out the door. Merle, with all the grace of a crack head rhinoceros, jumped out of the truck to let her sit up front with his brother. They stopped to pick up Michael and headed to Carol's house. The ride was awkwardly quiet at times, but Merle soon filled the silence with his scratchy voice. "I remember seeing ya at the bar that night blondie. You sure did get some looks. If baby brother here hadn't scooped you up, ole Merle would've grabbed ya."

"Shut up Merle! Not in front of the kid!" Daryl said, already frustrated.

"Uh, thank you?" Yvonne said and looked at Daryl, who had an apologetic look on his face. Soon they turned into Carol's driveway and Daryl helped Yvonne and Michael out of the truck. As they walked to the door, Daryl took her hand in his and tried to give her a reassuring look. He was just as nervous as she was and was hoping to reassure himself as well. As they approached the front steps, the door swung wide open. Sophia bolted out the door and flung herself at Daryl wrapping her arms around his waist. He let go of Yvonne's hand to wrap his arms around the little girl. "Hey Soph! How ya doing?"

"I'm glad you came tonight. Ma's making a real good supper. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and a blackberry cobbler for dessert," the little girl said as she extracted herself from Daryl and looked around at the others for the first time. "Come on in, Mamma's waiting on you." Daryl held the door for everyone as they walked in. Carol was standing at the counter putting the finishing touches on the cobbler when she heard the door open a second time, she washed her hands and went to the door to meet her guests. She hugged Yvonne who was first through the door. "So glad you all could make it." Merle walked in bringing up the rear. How appropriate, Carol thought. "Sophia, why don't you give Yvonne and Michael the tour, then maybe you and Michael can play for a while until supper is ready."

"Okay mamma." The little girl took them both by the hand and led them around the house. Once they were gone, Merle spoke up, "It's good to see ya Carol. How've ya been?" Daryl felt uncomfortable just watching this exchange, so he left the room in search of Yvonne and the kids. He found Yvonne coming out of Sophia's room. "I think he likes her," she said in a whisper. "He actually wants to play with her. They've been making each other laugh. I'm really glad we came here."

"Yeah, me too," Daryl said and put his arms around her waist. "Merle and Carol are having awkward conversation in the kitchen. I had to leave. Nobody should see that," he said and smiled.

"I think it's good that she was willing to invite him and that he was willing to come. Maybe she'd give him another chance. She seems to be a good woman, she'd be a good influence on him."

"Merle wouldn't know a good influence if it pitched a tent in his ass. Maybe you're right though. I think he still loves her. He just doesn't know how to show her. He's afraid she won't forgive him and he'll lose her forever."

"All he has to do is be honest with her. I don't know what he did, but if they're supposed to be together, they'll be together. Let's go see if we can help with dinner."

When they reached the kitchen, Merle and Carol had their backs to them, his arm around her shoulders. Daryl cleared his throat to get their attention. Merle's arm dropped suddenly and he turned to face them. "Hey brother. Where the kids?"

"Playing in Sophia's room," Yvonne said and walked over to Carol. "Need help with anything?"

"Merle, why don't you and Daryl go into the living room, watch t.v. or talk. Yvonne's gonna help me set the table," Carol replied. As soon as the men were gone, she handed Yvonne a stack of plates with utensils on top. Nothing was said for a while, until Yvonne spoke up. "So, how long have you known Daryl and Merle?"

"Ten years now. Merle and I were together for half of that. Daryl's like a brother to me. It's nice to see him happy. He and Merle have never been really happy. Daryl isn't like Merle though, he wants to be happy even though he doesn't believe it will happen. He's never had a lot of people in his life. He's always had Rick and T-Dog, and Merle, but Merle hasn't always been there for him like he should have. He left Daryl alone a lot when he was growing up. I'm really glad Daryl met you. You're making him happy."

"Well, Daryl makes me happy too. Never known a man like him before. Plenty of men who tried to convince me they were like him. He seems so honest, so genuine, and almost innocent. Maybe insecure at times, but full of confidence at others. Is he really like that? Is he really who he says he is?"

Carol walked over to her and put her hand on the other woman's shoulder. "He sure is," she said. "The most honest man I've ever known. He'd never hurt you, or your son. He's been through that, he'd protect both of you from anything. He's head over heels for you. If there's anything that you need to tell him, anything he needs to know, don't be afraid. He's got a lot he's still dealing with himself. He and Merle saved mine and Sophia's lives." She continued talking as she took a seat at the table. "Sophia's father was an evil bastard. He beat me almost every day after we got married. When Sophia was born, it just got worse. He resented her and the time that she took away from him. When she would cry, he would punish me. I met Daryl one day at the diner after a particularly bad episode. Together with Rick's help, he and Merle got me and Sophia out of that house, put Ed in jail for a while. He was killed not too long after he got out. Those men helped me get a job, find a home and Daryl is still helping me when he can. He'll help you if you need him to."

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that. No woman deserves that. I saw it myself with my own mamma. I was so lucky Michael's daddy never touched me like that. But, I have to admit, between him and my dad, my views of myself and men are kinda screwed. I guess I'm just having a hard time believing that all this is real. I'm having a hard time believing that a man like Daryl could like me or want me for more than the time it's gonna take for him to get off. I haven't been attracted to anyone for a very long time and I just can't imagine him feeling the same way about me. No one has ever loved me as much as I loved them."

Carol patted her hand. "You don't have to worry about that. Daryl does love you. He's never loved anyone in his life. He's never had the patience to be around a woman before. You've got that man tied in knots. He's scared to death of losing you, or hurting you. Ya'll are scared of the same thing. Sweetheart, you should talk to him. He's been there for me and Soph since we met. He won't leave you or run away from you. You just got to have a little faith in him."

We finished setting the table and got everyone seated. We were all talking and laughing and having a good time. Each time I looked up from my plate, Daryl was looking at me, smiling. Carol and Merle were even joking around with each other. The kids were talking about some video game they wanted to play. When everyone was finished, I asked Carol if she needed help with the cleanup. "No honey. You've already helped. It's someone else's turn." She took a plate in one hand and grabbed Merle with the other. As she walked away, she turned her head back to us and said, "Why don't you go out on the back porch and smoke. Clean up won't take long."

Daryl took my hand and led me through the house to the back door. The temperature had dropped a bit and I was shivering. He took off his leather jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. He took out his pack and lit two cigarettes, handing one to me. "I'm glad you and Carol are getting along. She's one of my best friends."

"Yeah, she speaks very highly of you. If I didn't know better, I'd think the two of you were more than friends."

"Nah. Never saw her like that. Besides, she and Merle love each other, they just don't see it. You have a good time tonight?"

"A great time. Your brother's not as bad as I thought he'd be. He's been almost a perfect gentleman."

"He's like that around Carol. Around anyone else, he's an ass." Just then, Michael and Sophia came out to let us know that it was cobbler time. Dessert was just as pleasant as dinner and soon it was time to leave. Daryl dropped Merle at the trailer first because he didn't want to go on a "long ass ride to Bumfuck", even though he lived in Bumfuck too. Michael dozed in the backseat all the way home. When we got there, Daryl carried him to his bedroom and I tucked him in. Daryl gave me as sweet peck on the cheek as he was leaving. His cell phone chimed as he turned away from me. "It's Carol, she just wanted to make sure everybody had a good time."

"We did. Thank her again for us. She'll have to come here for dinner one night."

"I'll tell her. Good night Yvonne. Sleep well sweetheart."

"Good night Daryl. You too."


	15. Chapter 15 The In-Laws are Coming

Chapter 15

The In-Laws are Coming

Yvonne had been stressing and freaking out the last day and a half. It was now Friday afternoon and Helen and Paul would be here any minute. When they arrive, Yvonne was taking them with her to pick up Michael from school. She was dreading this. She and Helen had never really liked each other. Yvonne clearly remembered the day they met. She and David had only been dating for a couple of months and he was taking her to meet them at a restaurant near their house in Columbia, Tennessee. When Helen learned that she and Yvonne both had a bachelor degree in English she was excited. That meant that they were just alike, right? Well, no, and Helen quickly realized that. Yvonne wasn't a shopper. She didn't have a lot of knick-knacks on her shelves. She didn't have decorative towels in the bathroom and sure as hell didn't wear Alfred Dunner pantsuits. She was nothing but a big disappointment. They had always been civil to each other, but David had told her all the nasty things his mother had said about her.

When they pulled into the driveway, Yvonne plastered on her fake smile and went outside to meet them. "Oh honey! It's so good to see you!" Helen said excitedly and gave Yvonne a big hug. "Have you lost weight sweetheart?"

"No, I haven't, but thanks for asking. Hello Paul, how are you? How was the trip?"

"Just fine honey." He said and came around the truck to give her a hug. She and Paul always got along. He had been raised the same as her and her mother, so they had a lot more in common. "Come on everybody, grab some bags so we can get the truck cleared out and go get that boy." Once they had all the bags inside, they left to go to the school. Yvonne had not missed this, the third degree. Helen needed to know everything about her life to everything about her friend's lives. She even started in on her job. "Are you still working at that diner?" Helen asked her.

"Technically it's a café, and yes, I am. It's a great job. I get paid well enough to support Michael and myself and I get a lot of exercise running around during the rushes. My co-workers are amazing and the customers are nice and friendly. I have no complaints about my job."

"I know honey, but don't you want something more for yourself? Think about Michael."

I'm going to bitch slap that woman! "I think about Michael every day. If I didn't, I wouldn't be working at all. I'd be on the couch in my robe watching television every day. Everything I do, I do for him. I don't do anything for myself. Maybe when I'm retired, like you, I can be selfish." Helen's mouth was hanging open. She remained silent the rest of the way to the school.

Michael was so excited to meet his grandparents. He talked the rest of the way home. He told them about his day and what he had been doing at the school, when they got home, Paul announced that he would be taking them all out for a special dinner. Everyone took their turns in the shower and got dressed. When they were on the way to the restaurant, Michael innocently asked if Daryl was meeting them there. Yvonne was struck dumb. She wasn't going to tell her in-laws about him, not in any way, shape or form. "Who is Daryl?" Helen asked.

"He's a friend of mommy's. He's fixing our car." Michael answered.

"Well, I haven't heard of him, Yvonne. Where did you meet him?"

"I met him that last weekend I spent with Kay in Senoia. He has a friend who owns a garage and Daryl helps him out when he has the time. He had the car towed there when it broke down Monday morning. He has been working on it after he gets off work almost every day. He's supposed to call me when it's ready."

"Are you two dating?" Helen asked.

"I don't know. We've had dinners and lunches together, but I wouldn't say we're a couple. We're just friends, that's all. Don't worry Helen, I haven't forgotten about David."

Dinner was pleasant. Michael, Helen and Paul carried the conversation. Yvonne just zoned out, dreading the rest of the night and the next day. She hadn't felt this empty and depressed since she was married. David was so much like his mother, both of them could make her feel like shit with just one word or look. She was just frozen, falling into herself. She wanted to talk to Daryl, she wanted to see him. When they finally got home, it was time for Michael to go to bed, Helen and Paul soon followed. Yvonne debated calling or texting Daryl wondering if it was too late at night when her phone vibrated in her hand. Speak of the devil.

-_Are you awake? D_

_-Yes. How are you? Y_

_-Tired. Finished ur car 2day. D_

_-That's wonderful! The best news I've had all day! Y _

_-Glad I could make your day. How's things with your parents? D_

_-I'm a nervous wreck. She always does this to me. We do our family thing tomorrow, then they leave Sunday. Y_

_-Can I call you? D_

_-Sure! Y_

Two minutes later, the phone vibrated and Daryl's handsome face appeared on her screen. "Hello," she said, barley above a whisper.

"Hello," he said back. "Why does she make you nervous? What does she do?"

"Typical, obnoxious, motherly, you aren't good enough and should me more like me things." Yvonne said sadly. "The real problem is that they aren't even my parents."

"I thought Michael said his grandparents were coming to town?" Daryl asked, confused.

"They are his biological grandparents, just not _my_ parents." She said. Fearing she had said too much, she remained quiet, waiting for a reply.

"His father's parents?" He asked again, although he kind of figured that out.

"Yeah. He sees them about once a month. We usually drive halfway and meet them, although sometimes I'll go all the way to their house or vice versa. I only see them in passing and I'm not use to being around her for this long. I've forgotten how bad she can get."

"If ya want to talk about it, I'd love to listen; I mean, you can tell me anything."

"Thank you Daryl. I will, someday, but not right now. Just let me survive the weekend and we'll see. I may need you to rescue me though, bring your crossbow and scare her a little?" she said, laughing.

"If you want that, then I'll do it. I can't give a shit about anyone who would make you feel like dirt. She's just ignorant, Yvonne. Try to ignore it if you can. How about we spend the day together Sunday after they leave? You and Michael come to Senoia. We'll find something fun to do, maybe a pic-nic or something? Maybe I can teach Michael how to fish?"

"That sounds great Daryl, You really don't have to do so much for me and him. But I appreciate it all."

"I haven't done that much, just try to be a good friend. You've been good to me too. Never had somebody like you. Just want you to know how much it means to me. How about I bring your car over tomorrow? I'll get Rick or T to follow me so I'll have a ride home. You let me know when you're gonna be there. Maybe I can put the fear of God in her." He chuckled.

"If she saw you with a sheriff's deputy or a giant black man following you, I think that would do the trick. Okay, I'll call you tomorrow after we get home. It was nice to hear your voice."

"It's always nice to hear yours too darlin'. Get some sleep and have nice dreams."

"You too Daryl. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, darlin'."


	16. Chapter 16 They're still heere

Chapter 16

They're still heere

The next morning came too soon. I did not want to get out of bed. When the smell of bacon made its way to my room, I was able to find the strength to crawl out of bed. The kitchen was alive with activity. Helen was making breakfast and Michael was assisting, while Paul was sitting at the table, reading the newspaper. "Good morning everyone. It smell so good in here."

"Thank you honey. Good morning to you too. I thought I'd make some food since Michael was up. Hope you don't mind." Helen said.

"Not at all. Nice to know I don't have to feed the pit this morning." I said, looking at Michael.

"Not funny mom." He replied.

Paul looked up from his paper and said, "Thought after we eat, we'd get ready to go. We can stop and buy flowers then head to the cemetery."

"Sounds good," I said. "On our way back we can stop and have lunch somewhere."

Two hours later, everyone was fed, clean and dressed. After buying flowers at the shop in town, they headed to Woodlawn Cemetery. She hardly ever came here anymore. It was only for Michael's benefit now; she was over it. As soon as the truck stopped, Helen began to cry. My first instinct was to tell her to grow up and get over it, but I knew better than that. I would lose my mind if I ever lost Michael. No one spoke as we walked toward David's final resting place. I spent fifteen years married to this man. It had been wonderful in the beginning. He made me feel good about myself for the first time in my life. It didn't take long, however, to realize that all his beautiful words were lies.

Helen and Paul stood on either side of Michael in front of the grave marker, while Yvonne stood behind them. They just stood there in silence for a while before Helen walked forward and placed the flowers in the vase at the head of the grave. Paul walked forward and put his arm around his wife, both of them weeping silently. Michael walked back to his mom and put his arm around her waist. To her surprise, her eyes began to fill with tears. It had been so long since she had cried over David, it had been long before he died. But today she was realizing where she was emotionally. She didn't miss David anymore, she had stopped loving him a long time ago. She had fallen for his charm and his persuasive words. She had believed everything he told her because she thought it felt right. She had married him out of shear desperation. He was her only hope of not being alone for the rest of her life. She ended up feeling more alone than she thought was possible. She thought about Daryl and began to wonder if she was headed down that path again. The thought made her nauseous. She would never allow a man to trap her like that again, even if it was Daryl Dixon. She had lived with emotional pain and hurt her whole life. She would do whatever she had to do to keep that from happening again.

Helen and Paul remained quiet on the ride when they left the cemetery. Only Michael's voice could be heard, trying to influence them to where they would be having lunch. Yvonne was as emotionally drained as her in-laws, but for a different reason. They were mourning their son, she was mourning the life she could have had without him. She couldn't honestly say that she totally regretted her marriage, it had given her Michael, but she always wished it could have been a more satisfying relationship. That he could have loved her like she wanted to be loved, that he could have been in love with her. When they finally made it back home after lunch, Yvonne was just about to call Daryl when Helen approached her and asked if they could talk.

"You know how much David loved you Yvonne" Helen began.

"No. I honestly don't. He said it to me every day, but I couldn't believe it. Words mean nothing Helen. It's easy to deceive with words. Proof lies in action. He. Had. None.

"He wouldn't have stayed with you if he didn't love you. You two were so different. Looking back now, I don't understand why he was so attracted to you"

"I don't know either to be honest. He would never tell me. He never told me anything. I didn't know how he felt about me, I don't know what he liked or didn't like about me. I don't know anything. He wouldn't talk to me. Hell, he wouldn't kiss me at all and he only touched me when he wanted to fuck me. It's as if we became roommates instead of husband and wife. Did you know that we slept in separate beds for the last three years of our marriage? What I do know is that he never respected me, because I didn't earn it. I was needy and clingy and always begging for attention. I was lazy and had no motivation or ambition. I wasn't good enough for him, or you. He told me I needed to be more like him, but I wouldn't damn myself like that. I am over him and I refuse to be treated like that anymore!" Yvonne stomped away to her bedroom and called Daryl.

By the time he answered the phone, she was hysterical. She couldn't breathe, much less make a coherent sentence. Daryl just told her he would bring the car and be there as soon as he possibly could. She was scaring him to death. He called Rick and asked if he could get an official escort to Woodbury. Twenty-four minutes later, Yvonne's Sonata came barreling into her driveway followed by a Senoia sheriff's squad car with lights and sirens blaring. The sound drove Helen, Paul and Michael out of the house. Michael ran to Daryl and jumped into his arms.

How's your momma, kid? Where is she?" Daryl asked, very impatient and agitated.

"She's in her room. She and grandma had a fight."

Helen demanded to know what was going on and who the hell Daryl was. He paid her no mind as he carried Michael through the front door. Rick attempted to calm the older woman, but she was too worked up. He couldn't get a word in edgewise.

"Ma'am, if you would just calm down, I would be happy to explain the situation to you and your husband. The gentleman I escorted here is Daryl Dixon, he is a friend of your daughter-in-law, as am I. He was returning her car to her and requested an official sheriff's escort when he receive a very disturbing phone call from Ms. Bradley and he was afraid that she was hurt or in danger. Now, unless there has been an incident involving violence, there is nothing to worry about. We'll just let Daryl check on Yvonne and make sure she is okay and give him time to calm down and we'll be out of your hair." Rick said in his calming, police officer voice.

"Why would she be upset?" Paul asked. "Nothing's happened today. We went to the cemetery and had lunch, then came home. We haven't even been back a full hour yet. What the hell could have happened? Helen, do you know?" She just stood there looking at the ground. No one saw her face. She mumbled a "no" at the question and moved to sit on the porch steps.

Daryl had burst through the front door with Michael in his arms, but quickly put him down and asked here Yvonne's room was. He lightly knocked on her bedroom door when he found it and could hear her still crying on the other side. She didn't acknowledge the knock, so he slowly opened the door and announced himself. When he crossed the threshold of her bedroom, she was sitting on her bed, Indian style, with her head in her hands. She did not look up at him as he moved across the room and sat in front of her on the bed. "Yvonne, baby, please stop crying. Tell me what she did. Rick's here with me. He brought his badge and the squad car and I've got my bow in the backseat of your car if I need it. Just, please, baby, don't cry." He leaned forward and put his arms around her and rubbed his hands up and down her back. Her head, still in her hands, rested upon his chest. She was sobbing uncontrollably and began to hiccup loudly. "Let me go get you a glass of water. I'll be right back."

"No! Please don't leave. Let Michael get it." He yelled for the kid to bring water and he did. Before he left the room, Michael put his arms around his mother's neck and said," I love you mom. I don't know why she says those things to you, but I'm gonna tell her to stop." Then he climbed off Yvonne and closed the door behind him. Daryl held Yvonne for a few more minutes until the sobbing stopped. He let go of her and she looked up at him. Her face and eyes were red, wet and swollen from her tears. She was still beautiful though, even now. He was so angry, but seeing her cry like this only brought his love to the forefront of his mind.

"I can't stand seeing you like this baby. Please tell me what happened." He begged her.

"I exploded all over her." Yvonne said quietly, trying not to let the tears come again. "She just kept saying these horrible things to me about how David felt about me and giving her opinion of our marriage. It's such a long story, there's so much to tell. I don't think I could go through it again, not now. I promise you Daryl, I will tell you all about it. But I can't when she's still here. I can't fight with her again, not today; I don't have the strength. I will tell you this, I was married to her son, David for fifteen years; he's Michael's father. David was full of hate and arrogance. He had little patience for people he felt were beneath him. He got that from his mother." When Yvonne stopped talking, Daryl put his fingers on her chin and pulled her face up to meet his. He leaned forward and kissed her gently. "I'm not gonna let you get hurt again. You mean too much to me and I'll never let you be around her without me ever again. I care about you so much and I'm gonna protect you." They just looked at each other and Yvonne could see the emotion and honesty in his eyes. He would be crying too if he wasn't such a strong man, she thought. Daryl saw the gratefulness in her eyes, almost as if she had never heard those words from a man before. From what he had just learned, she probably hadn't.


	17. Chapter 17 The In-Laws are Going

Thank everyone for all the favorites and follows! This is a super long one. I will try to update again before Christmas, but I can't promise anything. Everyone have a Merry Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukah or Kwanza or what ever you celebrate.

Chapter 17

The In-Laws are Going

"Baby, I need to go outside. Rick's there and I need to find out what's going on. You stay here, I'll be back." Daryl said and kissed her. When he walked out the front door, all eyes went to him. Helen was still sitting on the porch, her head in her hands. Rick and Paul were standing by the squad car talking. Daryl walked down the steps, not acknowledging the woman sitting there, best he didn't.

"How's she doing Daryl?" Rick asked.

"She's a fuckin' basket case! Michael said that she and his grandmother were having a fight. She's hysterical, but I got her calmed down a little." He turned to face Paul. "I don't know you, or your wife, but I do know what she said to Yvonne. I know what she thinks of her and how she treats her. Yvonne doesn't deserve that and the thought of you lettin' that woman do that to her makes me fuckin' sick! I have no say in what she decides to do, but if I did, I'd tell her to kick ya'll the hell out and never see either of ya again!" Daryl was getting a little hysterical himself.

Paul paused a moment before he replied to Daryl "I love that girl in there. She's like my own daughter. I know she's been treated badly, and by more than just my wife. I can't excuse what she said or did, but I can tell you this son, she and Yvonne will never see each other again, I will make sure of that. Regardless of what's happened, I know she would never deny us access to Michael. I will take over communication with them both, we're leaving in a bit to go back home, Helen doesn't know that yet. Daryl, she's been like that since I've known her. I'm still surprised that she was willing to marry a man like me. I grew up in a shack in the mountains; had nothing to my name when we married. She's always had this delusion about how things are supposed to be and when they are not to her liking, she throws disappointment everywhere. I'd like to speak to Yvonne before we go. Would that be alright Daryl?"

"Yeah, sure. And I agree, those two should never have been left alone together. I really like Yvonne and seeing her like this is just ripping me apart." Daryl said.

"I know son. I can see how much you care about her, and I can see that Michael adores you. My son wasn't meant to be a family man. She wasted many years hoping he would change because he loved them and wanted to be a better man for them, but he was too much like his mother. Take care of her Daryl, please. I love her too." Paul then patted Daryl on the shoulder as he walked toward the house.

"What the hell happened Daryl?" Rick asked.

"Said that woman was saying God awful shit to her. Stuff about her, her marriage. Told me that woman never approved of her, made her feel like shit. Said their son did the same thing. Rick, I'm 'bout to explode. I've never felt like this. She was breakin' my fuckin' heart. I wanna kill that woman and I'd kill her son if he wasn't already dead."

"Why don't you stay with her tonight? She needs you, and you need to be here. I can see it in your eyes, you're not leaving her here by herself. You love her Daryl. Have you told her yet?"

"No. Don't know how to. What if she don't love me back?"

"I guarantee she loves you back. After tonight, we can all see how much you love her, I bet she can see it too. You don't have to do it tonight, neither of you could handle a confession like that right now. Just stay with her, make her feel safe."

When Paul got to the front porch steps, he stopped and stood in front of Helen. "You don't have to tell me what happened, I already know. I'm going to go inside and talk to Yvonne, make sure she's alright. I'm also going to pack our bags; we're going back home today. You are gonna stay exactly where you are. You are not going inside this house and you are not going to see or talk to her again." Helen just nodded her head and didn't day a work Paul knocked softly when he reached her bedroom door. "Honey, its Paul. Can I come in for a minute, I got something I need to say to you."

"Yeah Paul. Come on in."

He walked across the room and sat on the bench at her vanity. "I'm so sorry for what she said to you. It doesn't surprise me, though I wished it did. You've got to believe that I love you and Michael. I don't feel like Helen does. You don't deserve what my family has given you. I promise that you will never see or hear from her again, I will make sure of that. I just hope that you'll see fit to continue to let us see Michael. I'll make all the arrangements and pick him up. Yvonne, I love you like you were my own. This breaks my heart. That young man out there cares for you deeply. Let him take care of you. He needs to do it and you need him to do it. He's the man you deserve sweetheart. Move on with your life."

"I love you too Paul," Yvonne said, but she couldn't look at him. "I always wanted to call you dad, but never did. Helen wanted me to call her mom, but I couldn't. I didn't want to cause conflict. I honestly didn't know what I was getting into when I married David. He was the man of my dreams, until he wasn't."

"I know honey. None of that is your fault. I hope that you and I can still keep in touch. I will meet you to drop off and pick up Michael, she will not come with me," he paused for a moment. "Well, I better grab our things, so we can get outta here. If we leave now, we'll be home before the sun sets." Paul stood and embraced Yvonne, holding her in his arms for a while before he walked out the door. As he carried the luggage to the truck, he stopped to speak to Rick and Daryl one last time. "Thank you officer. You were able to stun my wife speechless, and I have never seen that happen before. I think we all appreciate that. Daryl, those two are your responsibility now, if you accept that. Take care of them both. Give Yvonne what she deserves, Michael too. It's obvious he looks to you. Take care of yourselves, and again, I am truly sorry for the pain my family has caused that beautiful woman." He put the bags in the bed of the truck and drove off.

Rick left and Daryl went into the house. He went to check on Michael first, who was playing video games in the living room. "Hey buddy. How ya doing?"

"I'm okay, now that she's gone. Mom always tries to keep it together when she's around, but I knew she'd break one day."

"Your momma's gonna be fine. I'll make sure of that. I was thinking about ordering pizza for us, you interested?"

"Heck yeah!" Michael exclaimed. "Are you gonna stay with momma tonight?"

"If she wants me to; I just want her to feel safe. If she don't want me to, then I ain't. Don't want her to feel uncomfortable or stress her out any more than she already is. She's in charge tonight and I'm gonna need your help taking care of her. Can ya do that?"

"Sure. I'd do anything for mom. It's been hard for her since dad died. She's never been good at handling stress; she cries a lot. And I never make it easy for her. Maybe she'd like a nice, hot bath. She always says she wants one, but never has one."

"I'll go ask her if that's what she wants and tell her about the pizza. I'll be back. Save a game for me." He patted Michael on the shoulder and went to check on Yvonne. The door was partially open, so he peeked in. The room was empty. Then he heard the bathroom door close. He turned around and saw her walking toward him. He put his arms around her waist and held her close. "I'm gonna order pizza for us, if that's okay. Don't want ya to worry about feeding anybody. Michael thought ya might like a hot, relaxing bath. I'll run it for ya if ya do."

"He is the most wonderful little boy in the world. I am so blessed to have him. And I thank God that he isn't like his dad. I'm blessed to have you too, Daryl. Wouldn't have survived today without you."

"Don't know about that; you're a strong woman. You've had to deal with her and her son for a long time, and you still have the most beautiful smile I've ever seen. But I'm glad I was here. Can't stand the thought of you havin' to deal with her by yourself. I'm here for you anytime you need me. An-y-time. I mean it; I'll come running' or drivin', whichever gets me to you faster. I told ya already, I aint' gonna let you get hurt again." He kissed her forehead. "I'm gonna go order the pizza and then I'll run your bath. Go ahead and get out what ya gonna want for it. I'll be back." After he ordered the pizza, he started running water in the tub. She had some smelly stuff and a jar of little rocks setting on the edge of the basin. He made sure the temperature was perfect before he started pouring the smelly stuff in. The bottle said vanilla almond, but it could've said heaven and he would have been just as turned on. He imagined lying next to Yvonne in her bed, naked and wrapped around each other, breathing in this wonderful scent on her soft skin. He just shook the thought out of his head as he added the small rocks to the water. Tonight was definitely not the night to be thinking about taking her and making her his. When the tub was full, he went to get her. "Bath is ready. I need ya to just sit and soak till you're a prune. I'll let you know when the pizza gets here, but if you're not finished, that's okay. I just want you to relax, alright?"

"Got it. If you insist. Thank you. Someday, I'm gonna get the chance to pay you back for all this niceness."

"No need. Just be a prune. If you need anything, just yell. Michael and I are gonna play video games till the pizza gets here." Yvonne must have been in that bath for a good thirty to forty-five minutes. She was beyond pruned; Daryl would be happy, she thought. He had knocked on the door about ten minutes ago to tell her the food was here. She got out of the tub, dried off and wrapped herself in a towel. Quickly walking to her room, she shut the door and put on a pair of sleep shorts and a tank top. By the time she got to the kitchen, Michael and Daryl were already chowing down. There was a plate on the table between them with two slices and a beer sitting next to it. Before she sat down, she waved her pruned fingers in Daryl's face. "Good enough, sir?"

"Just perfect. Got ya a beer, thought ya might need it. How do you feel?"

"Much better, but more tired. I think I relieved too much stress," she laughed.

"It's good to see ya smiling," Daryl said. He and Michael continued talking. Michael was telling him about the class camping trip next weekend. "Maybe next spring, when it starts warming up, I'll take ya hunting with me; if it's okay with your mamma." They both looked at Yvonne waiting for a response. Her eyes went back and forth between them, then she smiled and nodded her head 'yes'. "Thanks mom!" Michael said and stood up to hug her. "Yeah, you'll be thanking me when you have to skin and gut a deer."

"What?" Michael said, sounding surprised.

"That's what hunters do, right Daryl?"

"Yes ma'am." Daryl replied with a smirk on his lips. "Gonna show ya how to do it right, Then we'll make your momma cook it up." Michael had a disgusted look on his face. "Can I call Caleb?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Sure," Yvonne said, "one hour till you go to bed. Make the most of it." He ran to his room and closed the door. Yvonne and Daryl cleaned up and put the rest of the pizza in the refrigerator. "Hey, what happened to Rick? He went home, right?"

"Yeah. After your in-laws left."

"So you don't have a way home, huh?"

"No. Kinda thought I might stay here tonight, to keep ya safe. I can call a cab if ya don't want me to," he said, half scared she was gonna hand him a phone book.

"I'd love it if you stayed. I wanted to ask ya to, but I was too scared."

"Why would ya be scared? You don't ever have to be afraid of me. I've told ya before, I'd do anything for you."

"I know, but I don't want to push my luck. I thought maybe you'd think I was too needy or not strong enough to stay by myself. David always said. . ."

"Fuck David!" Daryl said suddenly. "He had to have been one of the dumbest motherfuckers to ever walk this planet. No offense, but if I'd have been around when ya'll was married, I woulda beat the shit outta him. You're not needy, you're the strongest woman I know. Done told you that once. You're not what he said you are. You not what she says you are. You're the most beautiful, kind, thoughtful, smart, funny woman I've ever known. Damn anybody who says different." He grabbed his jacket off the chair and stormed out onto the back porch. Yvonne didn't know what to do at first, then she grabbed her smokes and went outside. Daryl was sitting in one of the lawn chairs, puffing away. She sat on the ground in front him and lit a cigarette. She laid her head in his lap. "Do you mean it? Do you mean all of it?" she said, eyes glistening with tears.

"Yes, baby," he said and lifted her head to look at him. "I never known a woman like you. Never been treated as good by anybody till you. Never felt this way about anybody till you" He lifted her up to him and she straddled his lap. He held the back of her neck and drew her toward him. Their lips met softly, meekly, but soon the kiss became passionate. They both left their smoke forgotten on the ground as her hands went to his shoulder, arms and chest; his hands on her back, ass and thighs. Soon they parted, breathless just looking into each other's eyes, He wanted to say the words, but they were stuck in his head. He currently did not have the capacity for speech. "I need to check and make sure Michael's getting ready for bed." Daryl just nodded his head and helped her stand. As they walked through the door, they were holding hands.

When Yvonne came out of Michael's room, she told Daryl that he wanted to say good night to him. "Is momma letting you stay?" he said as soon as Daryl walked in. "Yeah, I'm staying. Told ya, I'm gonna make sure your momma is alright. Gonna make sure she's happy."

"I think you already make her happy. I haven't seen or heard her cry since she met you. Until today, but that wasn't 'cause of you."

"I know bud. Get some sleep. See ya in the morning."

All the lights were off inside the house, except for Yvonne's room. He quietly walked to her door and slowly pushed it open; she was sitting at her vanity brushing her hair. She had beautiful hair. It went halfway down her back and looked as soft as silk. He walked up behind her and took the brush from her hand. He sat on the bench behind her and began brushing her luxurious hair. She looked at him through the mirror. He was being so gentle, she could barely feel the brush run through her hair His eyes were dark and he scooted closer to her. He laid the brush on the vanity and put his arms around her waist, laying his forehead on her shoulder. He could feel that soft, silky hair against his cheek. He had never been this content in his life. He could stay here with her forever. She reached behind her and locked her fingers behind his neck. His hands moved up her stomach to cup her breasts, kneading them with his large hands. He sighed in her ear and she moaned her approval. He, involuntarily, began moving his hips against her backside, her hands rubbing the back of his neck and running through his long hair. His mind was in a fog. He hardly realized what was going on, her moans spurring him on. He began kissing and licking her neck, losing himself in her. He could smell the vanilla almond heaven on her skin. When she let out a long, slow, deep moan, it brought him back to his senses. He groaned into her skin. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "Shouldn't have done that. You're not ready."

She turned her body to face him. "Are you?" she asked quietly.

"Not if you ain't. Don't need to be thinking about that right now anyways." He brushed his thumbs against her cheek. "You've had a tough day. You need to sleep."

"Will you stay in here with me?" she asked tentatively.

"If that's what you want." They stood and walked to opposite sides of the bed. Yvonne pulled back the covers and climbed in. Daryl was a little nervous, but fought his way through it. He took off his pants, leaving his t-shirt on and climbed into bed next to her. He pulled her to him, her head on his chest. He reached over and turned off the bedside lamp. Soon, they were asleep in each other's arms.


	18. Chapter 18 You Don't Touch Her

Special thank you to my new follower **gracie89. **You Rock! Hope you enjoy the update. Warning: homophobic slur, but what else would you expect from yer ole pal Merle. Gather round children, it's story time. Reviews are encouraged!

Chapter 18

You Don't Touch Her

It was Tuesday morning and Daryl still couldn't stop thinking about it. Waking up with Yvonne wrapped around him. It had been awkward for sure. He thought he was dreaming at first, she was lying so still in his arms and he was just holding her. He could feel the heat of her breath on his chest. He felt her eyelids flutter open and she looked up at him. She was beautiful in the morning, a sexy, sleepy smile and half-lidded eyes. "Good morning." She said with a strained voice.

"Good morning, darlin'. How'd you sleep?"

"Great. Much better than I thought I would. I should go make breakfast. Why don't you take a shower and I'll get Michael up." She went all out this morning, it was a special occasion to her. She made scrambled eggs, bacon, homemade biscuits with gravy and hash browns. She barely got some for herself before it was all gone. Daryl suggested they take the car back to Senoia and then have a pic-nic for lunch and maybe do some fishing. He called the diner where Carol worked before they left and put in a lunch order for their pic-nic. They all had so much fun and Michael caught a fish all on his own. He could get used to this, Daryl thought to himself. He'd never had moments like this when he was growing up, or as an adult either. Didn't know he'd wanted it so much.

So, here it was, two days later and it was still running through his mind. Merle could tell he wasn't mentally there this morning. Figured it had something to do with that woman he fancied. He needed a favor from his baby brother and felt guilty about it. He wouldn't even think of involving him in this mess, but Joe wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. The best way to get Daryl to agree to something was to make him feel obligated, so Merle came up with a plan, "Hey there baby brother. What's up? You seem a little lost."

"Just can't concentrate today. Got a lot on my mind." He replied.

"Wouldn't have anything to do with that blonde you're nailing does it?" Merle laughed and slapped his brother on the back.

"I'm not nailing her Merle. She ain't' ready for that. She's a good friend, and, yeah I'm thinking about her." He said shyly.

"Well, I'm gonna do ya a solid Darlina. Being as how I'm you foreman, I got some say around here. You're looking a little sickly and ya should probably go home and rest up, take care of yourself. Maybe even get a doctor to look ya over."

"What the hell are you doing Merle?"

"You ain't gonna be worth shit baby brother, if you're sick and can't concentrate. Go home or go to Woodbury, hell I don't care. Just get your mind straight, however ya have to do it."

"You sure Merle? You're shitting me, right?"

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth and get the fuck outta here." Daryl wasted no time. He knew Yvonne was at work, so he just left a message on her phone, He hadn't heard from her by the time he pulled into the café parking lot, but he could see her working through the front window. The bell chimed above the door as he walked in and both Amy and Beth looked over at him. Yvonne was with a customer and didn't notice. He sat at the coffee bar while Amy got him a steaming, hot cup. "Here for Yvonne, I assume? She didn't tell us you were dropping by."

"She didn't know. I left her a message on her phone, but I guess she hadn't checked it yet."

"What's the occasion? You off today?"

"Am now. My foreman took pity on me. Said I looked sick and needed to see a doctor. I'm sure he's gonna ask me to return the favor, but right now, I don't care. Ya think it's possible Yvonne could take the day?"

Amy smiled, "Ya know, she's been looking a might sickly herself. She might oughtta go home and rest." And then she was there, standing next to him. "He's awful sick hon, he came all the way out here to look for a doctor." Amy told her.

"You're sick! What's wrong? Shouldn't you be at home?" Yvonne was frantic.

"Calm down sweetheart. It's just a bad case of the 'missin yous', Daryl said, slightly appalled by his own corniness.

"Looks like you might be coming down with the same thing, Miss Yvonne. Maybe you and Daryl should go see a doctor. I'm sure Beth and I can cover the crowd."

"Are you sure, Amy? I wouldn't want to take advantage of your generosity."

"I'm not being generous. I just don't want to catch whatever the hell it is ya'll are spreading."

"Okay." Yvonne put her hand on Daryl's shoulder. "Let me go get my stuff. I'll be right back." When they left the café, Yvonne strolled over to Daryl's truck. "Uh uh," he said. "We're gonna take a walk at that park you was telling me about. It's a beautiful day, ain't no excuse to be spending it inside." He held his hand out to take hers and they walked the three blocks to the small park. There was a nature trail which circled a small lake and the two spent an hour just talking and holding hands. They sat on a bench at the end of the trail. Yvonne laid her head on his shoulder and he put his hand on her knee. They sat in silence till the sun began to set. When Daryl's stomach began to growl, Yvonne giggled and lightly tapped his tummy. "Sounds like the monster is trying to escape. We must appease him."

Daryl laughed, "I'm starving. Could go for a big, messy cheeseburger and fries."

"Sure, drive through good?"

"Yup," Daryl said and held her hand as they walked to the truck. On the way, she took her phone out and called Caleb's mom to ask it Michael could spend the night; she didn't know when she would get home. She could hear the boys yelling in the background excited for the sleepover. No sooner that Daryl stared the truck, his cell phone rang, Merle dammit! "What the fuck Merle! Ya know I'm busy."

"Yeah, I know little brother, but I need to call in that favor you owe me," Merle said. He sounded nervous.

"Can't do it tonight, ya know that. Get me tomorrow."

"Can't wait. Joe and the boys are here now. They need to talk to ya. It's important."

"No Merle. I appreciate you letting me go today, but I can't do anything for ya'll right now."

"If you don't get your faggot ass here within the next hour, I'll beat you to death boy, in front of your woman. When I say it's important, it's important!" he growled low into the phone.

"They threating you?" Daryl asked, concern flooding his voice.

"Just get here. We'll explain then." Daryl hit the end button and threw the phone in the backseat. "I think Merle's in trouble. He sounded strange. Says his boys need to talk to me. It can't be good."

"Listen, let's just go find out what they want and then we can go to the diner and get one of those awesome burgers. Michael is taken care of for the night. Everything will be fine,

"I don't want you anywhere near those guys. You stay in the truck and keep the doors locked, ya hear?"

"Yes Daryl. Not gonna do anything stupid okay." Thirty-five minutes later, they pulled up to the trailer. All the lights were on and there were beer cans littering the front yard. The sun had set on the road and now it was pitch dark outside. "Do not leave this truck!" Daryl stated flatly and got out. Yvonne locked the doors behind him.

They were all good and drunk by the time Daryl walked in the door. "Hey little D," Len said, the first to see him walk in. "Haven't seen you in weeks. Who you been doing?" All the guys laughed their drunk asses off.

Ain't doing anybody douche-bag." Daryl spat at him. "What the fuck you want with me Merle?" he yelled into the trailer.

"Not Merle that needs ya Daryl." Joe came walking into the living room. "We need your help with a little project we're working on. Need your expertise."

"Expertise in what?"

"In construction, boy. Your brother says you got a mind for all that architecture shit. The way things are put together. That's what makes ya such a good mechanic too." Joe said and motioned for Daryl to sit next to him on the dirty sofa. As Daryl went to sit down, he didn't notice Len slip out the door and Joe nod at him as he did. "Where's Merle?" Daryl asked when Joe put his arm around his shoulders and hugged him, like a father would. Joe and Merle were the same age; a good twelve years older than Daryl. The rest of the boys were his age. "He went to get more beer, should be back soon. Let's talk for a while."

Daryl had parked the truck in partial shadow away from the trailer, under a tree in the yard. Len spotted it right away. He hid at the side of the house so not to be seen. He could see smoke coming from the passenger side window and lingered for a while watching that slender arm go inside to drag and outside to flick. Yvonne was short, about 5' 4", but sitting in that truck for forty-five minutes without moving was taking its toll. Just for a minute, she thought. Everybody's inside, she thought. As quietly as she could, she stepped out of the truck and closed the door. She lit another cigarette and stretched her body as far as it would go. She didn't see him coming. He advanced on her like she was prey, which she was. She didn't see him until his hand shot out and rested on the trucks window, right beside her head. "Hey pretty thing. Why you out here all by yourself? Not a good neighborhood for a woman like you to be alone at night without a man to protect her." Len leaned into her and licked her neck. She could smell the alcohol seeping from his pores. She struggled to get away, but both his hands grasped her biceps and he held her against the door.

"Stop," she said quietly, almost calmly. She was anything but calm on the inside. Her heart was racing and she continued to struggle against the man pressing himself against her. "I saw you first bitch, long before little D even walked into that bar. He stole you from me." His hands began to roam over her beasts, squeezing them roughly. He wedged his knee between her legs. "That's against the rules. He knows that." He began biting her neck. "He's gonna pay for that." He ripped her shirt open, buttons flew everywhere. He reached behind his back and produced a very long, very sharp knife. "Not a sound outta you or I'll slash up this pretty face." He grabbed her by the waist and hauled her from the door to the truck bed. Releasing the tailgate with one hand, he threw her down onto the truck. Grabbing her ankles, he pulled her legs apart and climbed on top of her. She started freaking out and struggled against him harder. She began to beg as he wrenched her arms above her head and began rubbing his erection against her. She started crying. "Little D won't treat you like this. He's too much of a pussy to give you what you really need." He put his lips on hers and forced her mouth open. She took the opportunity and bit down on his invading tongue. He yelled and sat up punching her hard across the face. "I like a woman with fight. Wouldn't have pegged you for liking the pain, but I ain't disappointed. I can make it hurt if that's how ya like it." She bolted upward and without conscious thought, her right hand came up and landed directly on Len's nose. Blood started gushing and Yvonne took that moment to push him off her and jump from the truck. She ran to the front and screamed "DARYL!" Two seconds later he almost knocked the door off its hinges running to her. He was followed by everyone else in the trailer, except for Joe.

When he reached her, she was hunched over and shaking violently. He grabbed her by the waist to keep her from falling to the ground. "Yvonne! What happened? Yvonne!" She broke down in his arms and turned to see his face; she had to make sure that it was him and not that psycho trying to finish what he started. When he saw her face, he flew into a rage. Her shirt was ripped open and her face was bruised and bloody. "Who did this? Better tell me woman, Imma kill him." That dumbass motherfucker Len came around the truck on the driver's side. "She flipped out man. Nailed me right in the fucking face," he said as blood continued to drip down his face. Daryl placed Yvonne gently on the ground and leaped onto Len, taking him to the ground with a thud. He beat the man mercilessly, both fists flying. He couldn't even see the damage Yvonne had done anymore. After a minute or two of just watching the beating, Lew and Dave made their way over to the men. It took both of them to drag Daryl to his feet. Yvonne just sat there in the grass watching everything, trying to wrap her shirt around her.

"I'll kill you motherfucker! You don't touch her!" Everything stopped as they heard sirens in the distance getting closer. Everyone was about to take off running until Joe stepped out the door. "Stay put fellas. Nothing here to run from." It was Rick who exited the vehicle first, he immediately went to Daryl. "What the hell is going on? Got a call about a domestic dispute, some kind of fight." Shane had stepped out of the car and walked over to where Lew and Dave were holding up Len. "That Goddamn piece of shit tried to rape her Rick! Imma kill him!" Rick held him back as he tried to advance on Len again. "How's she doing? Go check on her, I'm gonna go talk to the boys. You take care of her. I'll be back in a minute." As Rick walked away, Daryl went to her and helped her stand. He hugged her tight and she clung to him like he was her lifeline. "Let's get you inside," he said and helped her up the steps and through the front door.


	19. Chapter 19 The Blame Game

Chapter 19

The Blame Game

Yvonne wouldn't speak. She just stared straight ahead, almost catatonic. Daryl was scared; he wanted to comfort her, hold her and make everything better. He wanted her to come back to him from wherever she was right now. He went to the kitchen and got her a bottle of water. "Please baby, drink this." He crouched down in front of her, putting his hand on her knee for balance. "Look at me." She turned her face to him and sighed heavily. "Thank you," she said and took the bottle. He sat on the couch next to her and hesitantly put his arm around her shoulders. She rested her head on his. He didn't know what to say, he just held her as she cried. He blamed himself for what happened, how could he not. He should've taken her home, or never came here at all. She was almost violently raped and it was all his fault. She was in shock, which was the only explanation for her allowing him to touch her. They sat like that for twenty minutes until Rick and Shane came in the door. Daryl immediately stood, "What's going on Rick? You arresting that motherfucker?"

"Yeah. He's going to the hospital first. You did some pretty severe damage Daryl. Broken nose, possible broken jaw." Rick replied. He put his hand on Daryl's arm and led him into the kitchen. "How is she?"

"She ain't talking. Can't stop crying. I want her to go to the hospital too, get herself checked out. I don't think he was able to do it. I think she was able to get away before he could rape her, but I need to know." Daryl pleaded.

"We got ambulances on the way. One for each of them. You can ride with her. Len hasn't admitted to anything yet. Don't have any witnesses except for her." Rick said as he pointed to the living room.

"I'll talk to her, see if she'll want to press charges." Shane said and started walking out of the room. Daryl grabbed his arm, "You ain't asking her shit. You ain't going near her. She's not gonna forget anything before tomorrow, Rick can ask her then. She's going to the hospital, then she's going home." Daryl said through gritted teeth.

"I'm just doing my job Dixon. Gotta talk to victims as soon as possible before she forgets her story. When she changes it later, we'll know." He said with a smile on his lips. Daryl went to swing his fist at him, but Rick stopped him.

"Shane, we can get her statement at the hospital, if she's willing to give it then. Daryl, we're not gonna force her to talk until she's ready to." Just then, two ambulances pulled up to the trailer. "We'll get Len loaded up first. As soon as their gone, we'll get Yvonne ready to go. Shane, you ride with Len; see if you can get a statement out of him. Daryl, you ride with Yvonne. I'll follow in the squad car."

Daryl held her hand the entire way to the hospital. She had stopped crying, but still wasn't talking. They were met at the ER door by a nurse with a wheelchair. Daryl wouldn't let the EMTs near her, he helped her out and into the chair. He almost flew into a rage when the nurse told him he couldn't go back with her. Rick put his hand on Daryl's shoulder, "She's gonna be back there for a while. Let's go get some coffee, maybe something to eat. I'll leave them your cell number if they need you." Daryl nodded and walked away toward the elevator. The doors opened as soon as Rick arrived. When the doors closed, Daryl heaved a giant sigh, "Goddamn Merle," he said.

"Merle have something to do with this?" Rick asked him.

"Not with what happened to Yvonne, but he's the reason I was there in the first place. He let me go this morning, from the job sight. He knew she was on my mind and told me to go see her. We spent the whole day together. I knew he'd want something for it, just didn't think it'd be tonight. Didn't think it'd be this."

"What did he want?" Rick questioned.

"Turns out, it wasn't for him, it was for Joe. Illegal, of course. Merle sounded off when he called, like Joe was threatening him. He sounded real nervous. He threatened me if I didn't show up. Should've taken her home, but she wanted to go to the diner afterward. Ya know, that night we met, Len was eyeing her. He's saying all kinds of shit about what he'd do to her. Knew he's gonna be there; told her to stay in the truck. Didn't even see Len go outside. Joe was talking to me, wasn't even paying attention. Fuck Rick, this is all my fault."

The elevator doors opened and they got in line at the cafeteria. "It's not your fault Daryl. It's that fucker Len's fault. Sounds like Joe was distracting you. What does he want you to do?"

"Ya know the old abandoned department store building in town? Well, Joe bought it from the fucker that owned it, had everything transferred into his name, even the insurance. Wants me to use my expertise to check it out, find out where its weak spots are so he cash in the policy."

"We'll get Len for what he did, I promise that. And maybe, we can get Joe for insurance fraud, at the least."

Daryl thought for a second and took a sip of his coffee. "Whatever you want Rick. I'll do whatever you say. Just make sure they all pay for this, or I will."

Merle sat in his truck, fifth of whiskey already gone, staring at his cell phone. He couldn't be there when Joe talked to his brother. He knew he would never go along with the plan. Daryl had ethics, morals and a sheriff's deputy for a best friend. He also knew that if (when) Daryl refused, Merle would be the one to bear the brunt of Joe's ire. That was okay, Merle had endured worse to save his baby brother, but this time was different. This time, they wouldn't stop at him, they would go after Daryl too, and possibly, Daryl's woman. He knew about the whole thing with Len and hoped to hell that Daryl could protect her. The picture on his cell screen smiled up at him. She had the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen. He needed her, needed to hear her voice. He wanted her to tell him what to do. She probably wouldn't even pick up the phone for him, but he had nothing to lose at this point.

Rick and Daryl made a beeline back to the emergency room the minute his phone rang. They had been waiting for an hour and a half and Daryl had drank four cups of coffee; he practically flew from the cafeteria to see her. The doctor met them at the reception desk and told Daryl all he knew. She had a few cuts and bruises, a nasty bite mark on her shoulder that would heal, but leave a scar, and the entire left side of her face was bruised and swollen, but would also heal. "Is that all?" Daryl asked anxiously.

"Yes. The rape kit came back negative. We were able to get skin cells from under her fingernails and DNA from her shirt. It's ready for the investigators when they come for it."

"What about the other guy?' Rick asked.

"Multiple lacerations to the face, some needed stitches. Black eye, broken nose and a couple missing teeth. He'll live long enough to go to jail for this," the doctor answered. "You can go see her if you want. I wouldn't expect her to say a lot. We've given her some pretty good pain meds. When we can get her discharged, she needs to go home and rest. Someone should stay with her while she's on the meds and bring her back in a week for a follow up."

"I'll do it." Daryl said. He stopped cold when he saw her. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes, but he didn't want her to see that. She lay so still and quiet, he didn't want to wake her up, but he had to touch her. He had to prove to himself she was there with him. He laid his hand on hers and rubbed his thumb across it. She stirred a little and her eyes fluttered open. "Baby, it's me, Daryl. Doctor says you're gonna heal up real good. They're gonna let ya go home soon and I'm gonna stay with ya, okay. I'm gonna take care of ya. I ain't gonna leave ya alone again, I promise," he said unsuccessfully fighting the tears. "God baby, I'm so sorry. I never should've brought you with me. It's all my fault."

"No, Daryl, it's not." Yvonne said sleepily. "Can we talk about this later? I'm just so tired."

"Of course, sweetheart. Get some rest." Daryl pulled one of the chairs next to her bed and continued to hold her hand. "I gotta find Shane and head back to the station," Rick said. "Gotta get started on paperwork. I'll call ya in the morning, to see how she's doing. You let me know when she's ready to talk. How ya'll getting home?"

"I'll call Merle or T. See if I can get a ride back to the trailer and I'll take her home from there. Thanks Rick, I owe ya one."

"You don't owe me shit. Just take care of her, and tell her that you love her."

They waited until she woke up to discharge her. She had slept for six hours and woke as the sun was rising. Daryl had called Merle, who said he would come by and pick them up. Daryl wanted to ask him about last night, where he'd been but couldn't think about anyone other than Yvonne. Merle pulled up in his truck as Daryl pushed the wheelchair outside. He was horrified when he saw her. That son of a bitch Len and all his buddies were gonna pay with their lives if he had anything to do with it. When they got back to the trailer, he helped Yvonne out of his truck and into Daryl's. She visibly flinched as she approached the passenger side door. She looked down and saw her crushed cigarette from last night, barely smoked. She was not going to cry, she'd cried all she was going to. She felt Daryl put his hand on her shoulder as Merle opened the door and helped her up. When the door was closed, Daryl looked at his brother. "You and me are gonna talk, whether you like it or not. You owe me some answers and you owe her more than that. I'll call you later and you better answer. I won't be back to work till tomorrow or next day. I'll let you know." He turned his back on his brother and drove Yvonne home.

"Thank you," she said, so quietly that Daryl almost didn't hear her.

"You don't have to thank me for nothing. It's my fault you were out there, my fault he hurt you. I'm grateful you're talking to me, grateful you're letting me be near you. I wouldn't blame you if you hated me and never wanted to see me again."

"You saved me. He could've raped me. You saved me, defended me. You hurt the man who hurt me. That makes me indebted to you. It's my fault it happened. I just wanted to stretch my legs. I know you said not to get out of the truck, and I did. I did what you told me not to do. There was a reason why you said it, I know that, but I was just so stupid."

"You weren't stupid. I was the stupid one for bringing you with me, for thinking I could leave you alone anywhere near those guys. I know them. I know what they can do, what they've done. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to make this better for you, I'm gonna take care of you and Michael, I promise."

"I don't want to play the blame game, Daryl. It's over, I know Rick needs a statement, I know I'll have to testify, maybe, but can I focus on healing? I don't care who's to blame. No one's to blame except that psycho who attacked me." Neither of them said anything else until they got to the house. Daryl got her inside and into bed, "You stay here, I'll run next door and get Michael."

"Oh God! What am I gonna tell him?"

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it. You rest, I'll make breakfast when we get back."

Daryl stopped Michael before he went into the house. "Something we gotta talk about buddy. Have a seat."

"Is mom okay? She hurt?"

"Yeah Michael. She was in an accident last night. She's gonna be fine, just some cuts and bruises, but she took a hit to her face. One side is swollen and bruised. Don't be scared when ya see her, she's gonna look like herself in no time." Daryl told him.

"Okay. Are you gonna stay and help take care of her? Can she walk? Will she be able to take care of herself?"

"Yeah, I'll stay. I already told your momma I would. She can walk and do things for herself, she's just in a lot of pain. They gave her some meds that make her sleep. Go on in, go see your momma and get ready for school. I'll drop you off. Gonna make breakfast too."

Shane had just finished up the paperwork from Len's statement when he felt his phone vibrate in his front pants pocket. When he saw who it was, he told Rick that he had to take it and would be back soon. "Hello," he said as he walked out the back door of the station.

"Hello cuz. How ya doing this fine morning?"

"A whole hell of a lot better than you are cuz." Shane replied.

What are we gonna do about this situation we've found ourselves in?"

"Working on a plan, don't worry. He'll pay for what he did. Both of them will."


	20. Chapter 20 An Owl in the Tree

WARNING: Here there be smut. If it's not your thing, then skip it. And probably the next couple of chapters too. Just sayin'

Chapter 20

An Owl in the Trees

Daryl felt that there weren't many positive things people could say about him, except for one. He was a man of his word. After he made breakfast, scrambled eggs and toast, he drove Michael to school and spent the rest of the day taking care of Yvonne. He made sure she ate, stayed hydrated and put ointment on her cuts and bruises. When she slept, which was most of the day, he lay with his arms around her. Eventually, he called Merle. He told Daryl he had known what Joe was gonna ask him and just couldn't be there; he was a coward. He didn't know about what happened to the girl until Daryl called him. He had taken a risk and gone to Carol who had not turned him away. He poured his heart out to her about Daryl, the boys and her. Afraid of how this would end for him, he told her he loved her and had spent the night in her bed. Those things he kept to himself. Carol had volunteered to stay with Yvonne during the day so Daryl and Merle could go back to work. It would be for only one day, because Daryl and Yvonne were going camping this weekend.

When Friday morning arrived, Daryl was up before the sun, packing gear in his truck. He wasn't sure if they should still go, but she had insisted. She told him that it would help get their minds off what had happened. He put Michael's gear in along with theirs. They were dropping him off for his own trip, then driving to the cabin. As they got closer, Daryl stopped at a small grocery store located just off the dirt road that led to their destination. He was planning on going hunting tomorrow and had brought food supplies to sustain them until then, but he had come up with a plan for a special night and had to get some extras. He picked up hot dogs, buns, marshmallows and, of course, beer. Yvonne wasn't sure of what she expected when she saw the cabin, but it certainly was not this. It was anything but a shack. It had two floors, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large kitchen and a living area with a fireplace. "This is incredible. It's so big and beautiful. Did your grandfather build this himself?"

"Yeah, for the most part. He let Merle and I do some stuff to the bedrooms to make them our own. Let's get the gear unloaded and I'll show you around." It took thirty minutes to get everything out of the truck because Daryl wouldn't let her carry anything. After she had put the food away, he grabbed her bag and they went upstairs. He showed her all three bedrooms and let her choose the one she wanted. She looked at each one twice before picking the one at the far end of the hall. Daryl sat her bag down by the door and sat next to her on the bed. The room looked the same as it had the last time he had slept there. This had been the room he had stayed in all those summers. He had made it his own in so many ways that weren't visible to the naked eye. This was the first place he could ever call his own, the first place he ever felt safe. There were still things hidden in this place that would never see the light of day. "Why'd ya pick this one?" he asked her.

"It seems the most comfortable. It feels safe, I just felt good when I came in here." She answered him.

"This one was mine. The second one was Merle's and the big one at the other end was grandpa's. I felt the same way when I first came in here. Merle wanted it at first, but grandpa told him that as the youngest, I deserved to get what I wanted for once. "

"I can pick another room, if you want this one to yourself," she told him.

"No. I want you to stay in here. It's a special room and you need to be in it, okay?"

"Okay. Let's go downstairs and eat a bite." She said and went downstairs. She looked through all the food Daryl had picked up and chose to make ham and cheese sandwiches. Daryl told her that she should rest after lunch, maybe they could nap for a while. In a couple or three hours, they would take a walk down to the creek and have dinner over a fire. She was excited about that, but she knew she should rest. Her body was still sore, even though most of her injuries were almost completely healed, the pain medication was still in her system. They walked up the stairs together and went into Daryl's old room. They lay in bed together, in each other's arm and drifted off to sleep.

They woke a couple of hours later with the sun low in the sky. "Better get everything together. Need to get to the creek before dark." Daryl said and kissed her on the forehead. He put the food and a couple other things in his backpack and let Yvonne carry the blanket. They arrived at the creek ten minutes later, the sun beginning to set. Daryl took the blanket from her and laid it on the ground, a few inches away from the creek bed. He put the backpack down on the corner and went to Yvonne, taking her hand in his. He let her to sit on the blanket and sat behind her. Wrapping his arms around her body, he nuzzled her neck and whispered in her ear, "I want to see this with you." He pointed to the sky where the sun was falling, about to meet the horizon. "It's beautiful," Yvonne whispered. Soon the darkness surrounded them. Daryl sighed and stood up, "Gotta get the fire going. Why don't you get the hot dogs out and ready while I do that." Daryl said and went to gather firewood. She had never roasted hot dogs over a fire before. This was exciting. She was having such a good time, being way from civilization, being with Daryl. She had been doing a lot of thinking since her attack. Her relationship with him was not what she had expected it to be. He had given her more that she thought she deserved. He had stood up for her and protected her; more than her husband ever did. She realized that she was falling in love with him, but didn't want to assume that he felt the same. The things he had done for her were nice things, done by a nice man. A nice man who couldn't possibly love her.

After their meal and dessert of roasted marshmallow, they lay on their backs next to each other on the blanket, watching the stars. "Thank you Daryl. This has been one of the best and most exciting days of my life. I'm so glad we did this. I'm so glad you invited me."

"I'm glad too. It's nice to have someone to share this with. Nice to have somebody who can appreciate it like I do." He said and turned on his side to face her. "You look so beautiful in the moonlight." He could see her blushing at his words and leaned down to gently kiss her lips.

"Why, Daryl? Why do you do such nice, sweet things for me?" She asked shyly.

He leaned back to look at her, thinking carefully before he spoke. "Because I never had anyone to do these things for. Every woman I've ever know has been a one night stand. No one ever wanted to get to know me. No woman ever let me into her life before, made me a part of it. It means so much that you've done that. I want you to know how much that means to me. And because . . ." he took a deep breath, "because I love you. I'm in love with you Yvonne."

She searched his eyes for any hint of deception and found none. Her eyes bean to glisten with tears. "Say it again, please."

"I love you. Think I've loved you since the night we met. Dreamed about you almost every night since. You don't have to say it back, I don't expect that. I just can't keep it to myself anymore."

Yvonne was speechless. She put her hand on his cheek and brought him down for a desperate, passionate kiss. He climbed over her and settled between her legs. His lips moved from hers to her jawline, then beneath her ear. He put a hand in her hair and pulled her head to the side allowing access to her beautiful neck. "I'm ready Daryl. I need you. Please." His lips continued their assault on her skin, moving to her collarbone, then her chest where he licked and sucked the swell of her breasts as they peeked out of her bra and tank. "Tell me baby." His voice low and rough. "Tell me what you need. Say the words."

"I need to feel you inside me," she said breathlessly. "Make love to me." He sat up on his knees and looked at her, lying there before him, his for the taking. He pulled her up to him and they looked into each other's eyes. "I need you too." He said and hissed her again. His hands went under her shirt to her stomach and as they moved higher, he pulled her shirt up and over her head. He couldn't take his eyes off her. Her beautiful, full breasts enclosed in a lacey, purple bra. He brought his hands up and cupped them, feeling her nipples harden as he rubbed his thumbs over them. They moaned together and she brought her hands up and wrapped them around his neck. She began to unbutton his shirt and slipped her hands inside, touching him for the first time. She felt his breath hitch and he stopped touching her, dropping his hands to his side. "Daryl? What's wrong? Are you okay? What did I do?" Yvonne asked him, scared that she had done something that would stop what was happening between them.

Daryl moved his hands away from her. He put his hand on her cheek and touched his forehead to hers. "Everything is okay. You didn't do anything wrong, just gave me a reminder."

"A reminder of what?" she whispered against his lips.

"You let me into your life," he said. "You've let me see things that hurt you. I know about your past, the things that made you who you are. I need to do the same," he said and stood before her. He unbuttoned his shirt and slowly let it slip from his shoulder and land on the blanket. In the moonlight, she could see faint white lines scattered across his chest, some small, some not. She moved closer and he allowed her to touch them. As she ran her fingers along the puckered white ropes of skin, she felt them surrounded by small circular ones. She knew exactly what this was. She'd seen it before, on her mother's skin. He held her wrists away and turned around, his back being much worse. Some of the scars had been covered by an elaborate tattoo on his shoulder blade, but she could still feel them as she continued to caress his rough skin. She wrapped her arms around him and put her forehead on his shoulder. He could feel her tears on his skin and instead of getting angry over the pity he thought she would feel, he knew these were tears of empathy.

"How long did this go on for Daryl?" Yvonne asked, the sadness evident in her voice.

"First time I was six. Right after my ma died. Pa blamed me 'cause I hadn't been home at the time. I'd been down the street with some neighborhood kids. Should have been there to keep an eye on her. She drank and smoked a lot and fell asleep with a cigarette. Burned the house down to nothing. Not a trace of her left." He began to weep. "Merle was in juvie most of the time, he never knew." He turned in her arms to face her. "No one knows, 'cept you. Rick and T always suspected, but I never told them. They've never seen my scars. You're the only person who's ever seen them. I was seventeen when he stopped. I was big enough and strong enough to fight back. He lost interest when I wouldn't lie down for him anymore."

"I don't care about the scars, Daryl. I've seen them before, on my mom. There's no reason to be ashamed of them either. You're the most beautiful, amazing man I've ever known and I have a feeling it's all because of those scars."

"You still want me?" he asked with trepidation, looking at her through shaggy strands of hair.

"More than I've ever wanted anyone or anything in my entire life. I love you Daryl." He placed one hand on her hip and grabbed the back of her head with the other. He pulled her roughly to him and devoured her mouth with his. He leaned forward, taking her to the ground beneath him, his lips never leaning hers. Reaching behind her, he unhooked her bra and slid the straps down her arms; it joined his shirt on the ground. As his mouth caressed her nipples his hands went to her waist; his thumbs dipping under the band of her jeans. With the button and zipper taken care of, he pushed them down her hips and legs exposing her matching purple lace panties. Once her jeans were disposed of, he hovered over her core and began kissing her stomach, working his way down. He pushed her panties aside and took a deep breath, breathing in her arousal. His already hard cock twitched in its confinement, begging to be released.

He dipped his head and slowly stated to lick and suck at her swollen clit. She whimpered and writhed, bucking her hips into his lavishing tongue. He rubbed her pussy with his fingers and slid two inside her. "Oh God, Daryl!" she cried. He thought his cock would burst out of his pants when he heard her say his name. "So perfect," he mumbled into her heat, the vibration causing her to moan loudly. She was close, he could tell by the way her pussy contracted on his fingers. "Don't stop! Please! Please don't stop!" she begged. He lifted his head to look at her. Her face was flushed and there was a thin sheen of sweat forming on her skin. He continued to pump his fingers inside her. "Not gonna stop baby. Never gonna stop. Want to see you come. Come for me Yvonne." He was panting now, his breathing shallow in anticipation of seeing that beautiful face in ecstasy. Suddenly she stilled, her mouth forming a perfect 'O' as her eyes shot wide open. Her back arched and her hands flew above her head. "I'm coming! Oh God Daryl!" He continued to pump his fingers inside her and began rubbing her clit with his thumb. He only stopped when she visibly relaxed, a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

He moved up her body and kissed her hard. She tasted herself on his lips and tongue. She moaned into the kiss, her limp body motionless beneath him. He broke the kiss and looked at her. "Are you ready for me?" he asked. His eyes dark and half-lidded, his lust and desire shining through. "Yes, take me. Make me yours," she begged. He sat up and left her laying there and went over to his backpack. Rooting around with one hand he pulled out a long, rectangular box. He looked at it for a moment then put it back. Not now, he thought. That was for later, after. He rooted around some more and found what he was looking for. He walked back to her and stood towering over her naked body. He took off his pants and boxers at once, letting his erection free. She looked up at him in awe. He was large, larger than any man she'd ever had before; certainly larger than David. He must have seen the surprise on her face, because after he rolled the condom on, he got on his knees before her. "We don't have to go through with this if you don't want to. I don't want to hurt you."

"It' been over four years for me Daryl. It's gonna hurt no matter what. The hurt will only last a moment, this will be worth any pain involved. Take me, however you want me." He leaned down between her thighs and rubbed his head against her wet slit. He supported himself with one palm by her head and the other pumping himself, preparing to enter her. He whispered in her ear, "Let me know if it's too much. I'll stop if you need me to." She nodded her head in the affirmative and he kissed her lips soft and gentle as he slid himself inside her. Her body stiffened and he stilled. "Just relax baby. I'm gonna take care of you." He took one nipple between his lips and the other between his thumb and forefinger manipulating them masterfully. He continued to ease himself inside her until he was balls deep. He stilled again allowing her time to adjust to him. When she was ready, she began bucking her hips into him, wordlessly giving him consent to move. He pulled out of her and slammed back inside, making her scream his name into the sky. She wrapped her legs around him tighter trying to pull him into her closer. She put her arms around his neck and brought his lips down on hers. His teeth clinking against her in a fury of love and passion. He sucked at her bottom lip and went straight for her neck. He roughly sucked that spot where her neck met her shoulder. Her moaning and screaming got louder as he sucked harder.

"Harder, please." She begged, barely able to speak. Her body was on fire. She could feel every thrust reverberate throughout her from head to toe. She had never felt so full in her life. She could feel her orgasm building in her again. As Daryl pumped himself inside her harder and faster she felt like she would lose consciousness. Daryl, meanwhile, was struggling to keep his own orgasm at bay. He had obeyed her command, taking her harder and rougher, making her his. "So perfect," he was able to say. "So wet, so tight. All mine." He growled, his voice deep and haggard, full of pure lust. He could feel her walls contract, squeezing his cock like a vise. "Please come baby. You've gotta come now. I can't last much longer." With those words, she dug her nails into his skin and dragged them down his back. "Daryl!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as she came harder than she ever had. He cradled her head in the crook of his neck as he released inside her, latching his teeth onto her neck as her pussy milked him for every ounce of cum in his body. They continued to move together as they both came down from their high. He lay on top of her, his head buried between her breasts as they waited for their breathing to calm. When his soft cock slid out of her, he moved to lay on his back, dragging her with him, his arm around her and her head on his chest.


	21. Chapter 21 The Bliss

Okay boys and girls, this one is a continuation of the last chapter. Daryl and Yvonne stuck in the woods for a weekend. Some may think this one is a little more graphic than the last, and they would be right. Thank you to all my favs/follows and reviewers. Ya'll rock. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 21

The Bliss

When Daryl opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that he was cold. The second was that he was naked and the third was the soft body wrapped around him. He felt her arm across his chest and her long, silky hair on his skin. He took a strand between his fingers and began twirling it. He felt the weight of her breasts and her nipples hardened by the chill. He lifted his arm and looked at his watch; they had been sleeping for almost an hour. He put his hand on her shoulder and gently shook her wake. "Wake up sleeping beauty," he whispered in her ear.

"Mmmm, don't wanna," Yvonne whined. "I like where I am. Don't make me move."

"I know baby, but it's getting cold and I don't want you to get sick. We need to head back to the cabin. I'll get you good and warmed up." Yvonne lifted her head from his chest and softly kissed his lips.

"Okay, but promise me that we'll come back here before we leave."

"I promise darlin'. Anything you want," he rolled her onto her back, "anyway you want it, anytime you want it beautiful." He laid his body on hers and sucked on her lower lip. "But right now, I want you in a nice, warm bed." He continued to kiss her slowly and let a few minutes pass before lifting himself off her and helping her up. He held her naked body close to his own. "I love you so much."

"I love you too Daryl. More than anything. Take me back to the cabin."

They got dressed and packed up all their stuff, the fire having extinguished itself a while back. They walked to the cabin hand in hand and when they arrived, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her across the threshold bridal style. She looked at him with surprise and he said, "Just practicing." She let his words stand and didn't respond. He went to the fridge and put away the leftover hot dogs. He grabbed her hand and his backpack and led her upstairs to his bed. She sat at the foot of the bed with him beside her, just as they had a few hours ago. He put his arm around her and she lay her head on his shoulder. He released a loud sigh, "I need you to know how much it means to me, what we did. I don't ever want to be without you. I've never felt this way and I think I fell in love with you on that curb in front of the bar. You've given me so much and you don't even know it. You've given me confidence, and a feeling of worth. I want to give it all back to you." He stood up and went to his backpack and took out the box. "Close your eyes. I got something for you."

"Daryl, you didn't have to . . ."

"Shush woman. I do what I want," he gave her a sly smirk. Yvonne closed her eyes and Daryl put the box in her hands. "Open your eyes." It was a long, rectangular box. When she opened it, she gasped. The box contained a long, silver chain and at the bottom was an open, silver heart pendant with a diamond in the middle. Her eyes began to water and her hands trembled.

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, Daryl. When did you get this? Why?"

"You ask silly questions," he said shaking his head. "I got it last Monday after your in-laws left. Everything I hadn't been sure about before, I realized was true. Why? Because I want to take care of you and Michael. I know you do fine on your own, but I want you to need me as much as I need you. I want both of ya to be mine." He took the necklace out of the box and held it his hands. "This is my heart, Yvonne. This diamond is you. You're in my heart and I'm giving it to you. It belongs to you, I belong to you; for as long as you'll have me." He swept her hair to the side and clasped the necklace behind her.

"You have my heart too. You have everything. My heart, my soul, and my body. It all belongs to you. I belong to you." She turned her body around and gently pushed him down on the bed. She had never been this bold before, she had never been allowed to be. She straddled his thighs and leaned down to kiss him. As their kiss grew more desperate she began to grind herself onto Daryl's hardness. She felt desperate, she _was_ desperate. She wanted him to take her in every way possible. Daryl felt her desperation and his own. He grabbed her hips hard, digging his fingers into them to stop her moving. "You gotta stop doing that or I'm gonna cum in my pants." He held her against him and flipped them over. Now, he was above her and felt her trembling beneath him. "I want you. I want to touch you, taste you, and feel you move under me. I want to hear you whimper and moan my name when I make you cum," he said and relieved her of her shirt and bra. He pressed heated, open mouthed kisses to her neck, chest and stomach, following them with long, lingering licks with his tongue. He licked his way back up to her breasts and took one in his mouth, using his hand on the other. She was breathing heavy and her desire was causing her body to move almost against her own will. She was arching her back pushing herself farther into his mouth and hand. She was bucking her hips into his hardness trying to relieve some of her need.

"Daryl," she moaned over and over. He was touching her with his mouth and his tongue. "Please Daryl," she whined, but he didn't stop. He acted like he didn't even hear her. "I need you. I need to feel you," she begged.

"You're so fuckin' beautiful baby. Your mine. This body is mine, and I'm gonna do what I want. I'm nowhere near finished with you." He said with a growl deep in his chest. He lifted himself from her and stood at the foot of the bed, shedding his clothes. When he was naked in front of her, he got on his knees and pulled her to the edge of the bed. His eyes were black with desire and he pulled her jeans and panties from her body. He lifted her legs and placed her feet on his shoulders. He lay his palm over her wet heat and began rubbing circles with it. Her breath hitched and became shallow. She was moaning and her body jerked uncontrollably. He moved his hand away and rubbed from her clit to her pussy with his finger, finally slipping it inside her. "Oh fuck, Daryl," she cried. "Feels so good, so fucking good." By this time, he had his mouth on her, licking, sucking and biting while his fingers pounded in and out of her. "You taste so good baby girl and smell so sweet. I'm gonna make you come, then I'm gonna fuck you through this bed," he growled. His fingers and tongue moved faster and harder and Yvonne felt the pressure building again. She screamed his name as she came. He pressed his palm to her stomach to hold her down. He kept licking, sucking and thrusting until she lay still. He stood up, "On your stomach baby girl. I need ya." She rolled over and he grasped her by the hips bringing them up to him. He leaned over, gently rubbing her back. He parted her legs enough to fit his thighs inside them. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to him, her back against his chest. He turned her head to the side, kissed her deeply and slid inside her. He muffled her scream with his mouth. He wrapped his arms around her and covered her breasts with his hands, squeezing them and rolling his thumbs over her nipples. When his thrusting became more frantic, he moved his hands to her hips to steady her. His head rested on her back and he moaned, "Never gonna let you go. Love you. Love you." He pushed her down onto the bed keeping one hand on her hip the other went to her lower back to hold her down. He slammed into her three more times and roared as he came inside her. He kept moving in and out of her until he was dry, then he collapsed next to her.

She lay on her stomach, not moving, only shifting her head to the side facing him. He lay on his back, one arm over his closed eyes and a hand on his chest. His mouth was open and he was gasping for air. She had never been so thoroughly fucked in her entire life. She knew she'd be walking funny tomorrow, but who gave a shit. Maybe she wouldn't have to walk at all. Suddenly Daryl sat bolt upright. "Fuck!" he exclaimed loudly.

"Yup," Yvonne answered lazily with a smile on her face.

"No baby, I forgot. I'm so sorry."

"Forgot wha. . . oh." She replied when she realized what he meant.

"God baby, I didn't mean to. I just . . .I'm so fucking sorry. I ruined everything." Daryl put his head in his hands. Yvonne sat up and put an arm around his shoulders.

"You didn't ruin anything, Daryl. It's okay. I can't get pregnant tonight."

"What?"

"I can only get pregnant at a specific time of the month. This isn't that time. Trust me. How do you think I only had one kid?"

"Okay," he said. He wasn't sure he understood that, but he trusted her. She wouldn't lie about something like this. "If you're not worried, I'm not either."

"When the time comes, I'll make sure you know to be prepared. I'm exhausted. I need sleep and so do you. We have the rest of the weekend ahead of us." She kissed him briefly on the lips and lay down with her back to him. Daryl settled down next to her and brought the sheet up around them. She reached over and turned off the table lamp then relaxed in his arms. "I love ya darlin'," he said. "I love you too," she replied and soon they were asleep in each other's arms again.

The next morning, Yvonne woke before Daryl. He no longer had his arms around her and she wondered if he had left to go hunting. She turned over and saw him lying next to her, in the same position he was in last night after they made love. She propped herself on her elbow and admired him. The sheet had slipped down to his waist and she looked longingly at his sculptured chest. The tattoos, sparse hair and scars. It all made him so beautiful to her. The long expanse of his neck leading to his strong, broad shoulders. She fought the urge to touch him, not wanting him to wake just yet. Her eyes continued down his body to where the sheet lay on his hips; the line of hair on his stomach running underneath. Then she caught a glance and saw that he was hard. She was well acquainted with morning wood. Morning was the only time David was in the mood for her. She thought about the magnificence that lay under that sheet and suddenly had the desire to do something she never thought she would ever have the desire to do. She crawled to the foot of the bed and slowly pulled the sheet from Daryl's body, revealing his impressive erection. He was so much larger than David. She could deep throat him, not an impressive feat considering his lack of length. She knew Daryl was more than a mouthful and that was intimidating, but she wanted to do this so badly. She wanted to give him pleasure. She wanted to give to him what he had given to her.

She took him in her hand at the base of his cock. Moving her hand slowly up and down his length, rubbing her thumb across his head. She leaned over him and licked him like an ice cream cone, taking him into her mouth. She sucked lightly and began moving her hand up and down his shaft. She looked up at him and saw his eyes flutter, but not open. He began to moan in his sleep. She knew he was dreaming and that he would wake up soon. Her mouth continued its assault. She relaxed he throat and took him in as far as she could. As his moans got louder, he reached out his hand and placed it on the back of her head, slowly pushing her further down on him. "Yes baby. Don't stop. You're so good baby girl." Her eyes shot up to his face and his eyes were wide open watching her head move up and down on his cock. "Fuck! Suck harder baby, faster, please," he cried out. He gripped her hair in his fist to hold her in place and began to buck his hips into her mouth. She felt him hit the back of her throat and stifled a gag reflex as she realized he had his entire cock in her mouth, fucking her with abandon. Then he released his grip on her. "Gonna cum," he said, barely able to form the words. He gave her the chance to get off him, he didn't want to surprise her, but she didn't move. She gripped his hips and held on as he released his seed inside her warm mouth. When he lay still, she raised her head and swept the hair from her face. Daryl looked at her, his mind in haze. She had a line of cum dripping from her lips down her chin. She wiped at it with her finger. Daryl raised up and took her hand in his, putting her cum covered digit in his mouth and sucking it dry. Her eyes went wide at that. She had never seen a man do that and it made her wet. "That's a first," he said when her released her finger with a loud pop.

"Never had a wakeup call like that before, huh?" she said, not able to keep the smile of satisfaction from her face.

"Nope, never had that at all," he said and lowered his head trying to avoid her eyes.

"No way Daryl. That was not your first blow job." She said unbelieving.

"Yeah, it was."

"But how . . . I don't believe that."

"Told you, all those other women were one night stands. Drunk bar whores. All they wanted was to fuck. Doing something like that disgusted them. I guess drunk bar whores have standards."

Yvonne had always been disgusted by it too. This was the first time in her life she had wanted to do this. She had never had that desire until Daryl. "So . . . was it good for you?"

"There is no way in hell that you could touch me and it not be good. I don't have anything to compare it to, but your mouth is fucking amazing."

She moved to sit next to him on the bed. "David always said I didn't do it right. I was never able to make him cum with my mouth."

Daryl looked at her shocked. "He was a Goddamn idiot! I don't want you to think about him anymore! I don't want to hear his name again, do you hear me!" She shook her head yes, afraid to speak. Trying to change the subject she said, "If you're going hunting today, you should get ready. I'll go fix breakfast." She stopped at the door and looked back at him, still sitting on the bed. "I don't need to say his name again. I have a new one to say, a better one." She walked through the door and went to start breakfast.


	22. Chapter 22 This Ship is in the Shore

Alright, here's a little domesticity for ya. Also, there is one line that makes me giggle uncontrollably. Can you guess what it is?

Chapter 22

This Ship is in the Shore

Daryl was gone for about three and a half hours. Yvonne spent that time cleaning the cabin. There wasn't much to do, but she kept herself busy and her mind occupied. When there wasn't anything left to do, she grabbed a beer and her smokes and sat on the front porch waiting for her man to return. What happened between them this weekend seemed like a dream. She certainly did not expect it and she didn't regret it. He told her that she had given him confidence and self-worth and he had given her the same. She believed him when he said he loved her and she felt confident enough to say it back. All the fear she had was gone. Her heart and mind were together on this one. There was no longer conflict between what she wanted and what she thought was the truth. When she saw him walking toward the cabin, she rose to great him. He had a string of something around his waist, but she couldn't tell what it was. He leaned his crossbow against the porch steps and took her in his arms. "Missed you," he said into her hair. "Missed you too. What did you kill for me?"

"Got a half dozen squirrels. I almost had a twelve point, but I tripped over a tree root and spooked him off," he said embarrassed.

"That's okay caveman. Hunter gatherer still bring food for woman," she said.

"This hunter will always provide for his woman." He kissed her lips softly. "Come on, I'm gonna show you how it's done Dixon style."

"Ooh, you have your own style. Very impressive. Woman intrigued." She laughed and turned to walk back inside. Daryl laughed with her and slapped her ass and said, "Woman go fix man food."

She was very proud of herself. She didn't get as grossed out as she thought she would and even helped out with the last three. Daryl had brought some spices with him and seasoned the meat. While the squirrel was marinating, they sat on the couch in each other's arms. Daryl told her the story of the lost buck and she told him what she had been doing around the cabin. He noticed she kept touching her pendant. He loved the way it looked against her pale skin. He reached out and traced it with the pad of his finger. He stared at it mesmerized. He still couldn't believe what had happened between them this weekend. It felt like a dream. What he hadn't told her was that he tripped over the tree root because he had been replaying last night in his head. He had been concentrating on it so hard in fact, that he almost whipped it out and jerked it right there in the woods. That is until he remembered that he didn't have to do that anymore. What he was thinking about wasn't a fantasy, it had really happened. It was real and she was willing and waiting for him back at the cabin. Fortunately, he was able to get his head back in the game long enough to bag those squirrels and get back to the cabin without sporting a hard-on the size of Texas.

He finally looked up at her and locked onto those beautiful chocolate eyes that had taken his breath away the night they met. She put her hand on the back of his head and pulled him into a soft kiss. When they parted, he cupped her face in his hands. "Your never gonna doubt yourself again. I'm gonna make sure of it, I promise you. There won't be a day goes by that you're not gonna know how wonderful and beautiful you are."

"And I promise you the same Daryl. Every day I'm gonna tell you and show you how amazing you are. I waited my whole life for you, then I gave up for a long time. I didn't think I deserved someone like you, but you're the only man who's ever made me feel wonderful and beautiful. I need you to believe the same about yourself."

"Nobody's ever said things like that to me. I was always just nothing, nobody. A woman would only be with me if she was drunk, high or Merle offered her drugs for it. Got so tired of that."

"You don't ever have to worry about that again. Those women were idiots. I know what you are, I know what I have with you and I'm never giving up on you." He put his arm around her shoulder and brought her to him. She rested her head on his chest. They sat like that, in silence, until it was time to fix dinner. They worked together, Daryl frying the meat and Yvonne making mac and cheese out of a box and green beans from a can. She was alarmed at how much she liked squirrel. Daryl just told her that it was his special recipe that did it, because squirrel really don't taste that good. They spent their time just laughing and talking, enjoying each other's company.

After dinner, they cleaned the dishes. Well, Yvonne did, Daryl stood behind her with his arms around her waist and his chin on her shoulder. After the last dish was in the drainer, she turned in his arms and put hers around his neck. "So, what do you want to do now?" she said suggestively.

He laid his forehead on hers. "I'm real tired. I was thinking we could just go to bed early, if that's okay?" She moved her head away from his with a look of utter disappointment on her face. Daryl smirked. "I ain't _that_ tired. I don't think I'll _ever_ be _that_ tired. Take a shower with me, then we'll have all night to figure out what we want to do."

"Yeah, you smell a little squirrely caveman," she laughed.

"Smell like Man!" he replied and sniffed her. "Woman smell squirrely too. Let man wash, make woman smell good."

"Mmm, sounds good caveman." He hauled her up on his shoulder, smacked her ass and headed upstairs to the shower. He put her down once they got inside and closed the door. Daryl turned the water on to let it warm up and Yvonne smacked his ass while he was bent over. "What the hell are you doing woman?" He stalked over to her, backing her up against the door.

"Nothing. Just a little payback. I can see the appeal."

"You think my ass is appealing?"

"Among other things." He cupped her cheek in his hand.

"My ass, and 'other things' think you're pretty appealing too." He took a step backwards and sat on the edge of the tub. "Take off your clothes baby girl. I want to see you." She slowly undressed, his eyes burning holes in her skin. When she was completely naked, he crooked his finger telling her to come closer. He stood in front of her and took off his clothes. By this time, the bathroom was becoming quite steamy and Daryl pulled back the curtain and stepped inside. He held his hand out to Yvonne and helped her in. Seeing him standing under the hot, steamy water made her wet. He looked so sexy standing there with water running down his naked body. He put his hands on her hips and spun her around until she was standing under the spray. He ran his hands all over her, feeling the wetness on her skin. His mouth took hers slowly, sensually and soon Yvonne felt him poking her stomach. She reached down and took him in her hand, pumping him slowly from base to tip. A small moan escaped his lips through their kiss, which became more heated and urgent as her movements increased.

"Fuck baby girl. I don't wanna cum like this. I wanna be inside you," he said, his breathing becoming labored. He removed her hand from his cock and turned her so her back was against the tile wall. He bent his head into her neck and began to suck and lick while his hands massaged her breasts. He worked his way down her body until he was on his knees before her. He lifted her leg to his shoulder and grabbed her other thigh to hold her steady as he used his mouth on her. Her soft moans and cries made him even harder and more hungry for her. Taking his arm from the leg on his shoulder, he pushed two fingers inside her. Once he started pumping in and out of her, he could feel she was close; her walls clinching his thick fingers. "Come for me baby girl. I want to taste you." With those words, she released into his mouth.

He stood and turned her around placing her hands on the tile. He gently pushed her forward until her ass was rubbing against him. Leaning over her, he trailed kisses down her back and reached his arm around her to hold her breasts. He slowly breeched her wet, hot center with his hard, weeping cock. They moaned and moved together in a perfect rhythm. Soon, his thrusts became harder and faster. She was on the edge again and chanting his name like a prayer, begging him to fuck her harder. He grabbed her hair in his fist and pulled her head back. He attacked her neck with ferocity, sucking the soft and delicate skin into his mouth. "I'm gonna cum baby girl. I'm gonna cum hard inside this tight, wet pussy." Once again, just the sound of his voice had her spiraling out of control. She screamed his name and came for the second time that night. He soon followed and continued to thrust furiously until he had emptied himself inside her. He wrapped his arms around her as their breathing slowed. She turned in his arms and smiled at him. He touched his lips to hers and lingered there.

"You are the best thing that has ever happened to me Yvonne. I'm never letting you go."

She moved her lips against his. "I don't ever want to be without you. I could never survive if I lost you." They continued to kiss, but soon separated. "I guess we should wash up now," she said.

"Alright." Daryl took the cloth and ran it across her skin lovingly and Yvonne did the same in return. When they were done, they dried each other off and walked to the bedroom. When she started to put her pajamas on, he stopped her. "I just want to touch you tonight. I want to feel your body against mine." She nodded her head in compliance and crawled under the sheets. He turned off the lights and crawled in after her. Wrapping his arms around her, he snuggled into the warmth of her back and let sleep take them both.

Sunday morning came too soon for Daryl. He was rudely awoken by his insistent bladder. He very carefully removed his arms from around his lover and crept quietly down the hall to the bathroom. When he returned, he crept just as quietly back into bed, satisfied that she was still asleep. "Do you feel better now?" she asked him.

"Damn, I thought I was being quiet. I didn't meant to wake you sweetheart."

"I didn't hear you, just knew you weren't here. It's barley been a day, but I'm already used to you being next to me. I guess we have to go back to reality today, huh?"

"This is reality. Ain't nothing gonna be different when we get back. Except maybe now I got a family to come home to? What's Michael gonna say? Is he gonna be okay with us being together like this?" These questions had been in the back of Daryl's mind since Friday night.

"Michael loves you. He thinks you're the coolest guy in the world. He respects you too. He respects you for standing up to his grandparents for me. He's gonna be happy about this."

"Good. I love him too and don't want to put a wedge between the two of you. I'd rather bow out now than cause problems with ya'll."

"No worries about that," she said as she leaned over and grabbed her phone off the nightstand. "His bus isn't due back until three o'clock. It's only seven now. Do you think we could just spend the rest of our time here, in bed? Maybe we could go back to sleep for a while?"

"Sure," Daryl said shifting onto his back. "I thought we could go back to the creek as we're heading out; have some lunch, maybe take a walk?" Yvonne snuggled into his arms "Sounds perfect," she said sleepily and soon fell asleep on the pillow of Daryl's chest.

They woke three and a half hours later. Daryl took a shower while Yvonne packed a lunch and then Yvonne took hers while Daryl packed their gear. He took one last look around the bedroom he had all those years ago and most recently shared with her. He walked to the window and knelt down in front of it pulling a board up and searching below it. He pulled out a medium size handcrafted wooden box his grandfather had made for him on his ninth birthday. He opened it briefly to check the contents and closed it again. He placed it at the bottom of his backpack and went downstairs. When they arrived at the creek, they decided to take a walk first to build an appetite. They walked hand in hand the full length of the creek. Daryl told her stories from when he and Merle were kids. How their grandfather taught them how to hunt and track in these woods and fish in that creek. He told her about his first kill. It should've been Merle's, but he was too busy complaining about something to pay attention. Daryl stole it right out from under him. When they got back to the truck, they ate the lunch that Yvonne had packed. They sat in silence, the creek the only sound. It reminded Daryl of something.

"Ya know, the night we met, I had a dream about you. We were here, by the creek, sitting in the truck bed just like this."

"Is that all we were doing?"

Daryl laughed. "No, but I woke up too soon, so it wasn't much."

"Maybe we can come back? Let you finish your dream."

"I promise we will. Better head out if we want to get there before the bus does." They climbed in the truck and as he drove away, Yvonne looked behind them to the spot where her new life began.


	23. Chapter 23 Hall of Mirrors

Thank you for all the favs and follows. They make me very happy. Enjoy!

Chapter 23

House of Mirrors

Yvonne had forgotten all about the carnival in Senoia. Daryl had mentioned it a long time ago after they first met, but she hadn't heard a word about it since. They hadn't seen each other since he brought them home Sunday. They had both been busy with work; Daryl had been going to T's garage after the construction site every night. He had called her when he got home, though, to tell her how much he loved her. They hadn't told Michael yet, Daryl wanted them to do it together. They would all go out to dinner, then maybe ice cream or go do something fun.

The carnival started on Friday and would be in town for a week. Everyone was going together as a group. Daryl, Yvonne, Michael, Rick, Lori, Carl, Merle, Carol, Sophia T-Dog and his girlfriend Jackie. When Yvonne picked up Michael from school that day, they went straight to Carol's house to meet everybody since Daryl and Merle didn't want them anywhere near the trailer. Michael and Sophia rode with Carl. Merle and Carol took his truck and Daryl and Yvonne rode with T-Dog and Jackie. Carl was the only one of the kids that had ever been to a carnival before, so he took the lead with Michael and Sophia showing them around.

Not long after they arrived, the couples went their separate ways agreeing to meet back in two hours for food. Daryl and Yvonne headed to the rides first. Roller coaster, Ferris wheel and tilt-a-whirl. They did them all one right after the other. Daryl was having more fun the he had ever had in his life. Yvonne loved it all, except the Ferris wheel. She was afraid of heights. When they were stuck at the top, her breathing quickened and her hands began to shake. Daryl put his arm around her and tucked her into his side. He turned her face to his and kissed her until they were on the ground again. "Thank you. I just get real nervous being off the ground."

"No problem darlin'. I'll always keep you safe. You don't need to worry about anything when I'm around." It was almost time to meet the others to eat, so they walked to the pic-nic area. They were too engrossed in each other to notice they were being watched.

T-Dog, Jackie, Merle, Carol and the kids were anxiously waiting when they arrived .Merle stood to meet Daryl and took him to the side to talk. "I don't mean to alarm you baby brother, but you and your woman are on somebody's radar tonight and I think I know who it is."

"What the hell? How you figure that shit?"

"There's three men been just about everywhere ya'll been. Carol and I been shadowing ya since we got here I saw a familiar truck in the lot and got suspicious."

"Who the hell is it Merle?" Daryl said, rage building in his bones.

"I think it's Joe and Len. That was Joe's truck I saw and if I ain't with him, he's got Len by his side. Keep an eye out and you might want to talk to your buddies and get them looking out too."

"He ain't getting near her Merle. I'll kill him!"

"Well, it's a good thing you got a deputy on your side. None of us are gonna let that happen Daryl. She's safe, ain't none of us gonna let anything happen to her."

"I know Merle. Just don't do anything that's gonna put yourself in danger. Neither of them is right in the head. They're a danger to all of us."

"No need to worry 'bout me baby brother. Only a Dixon can kill a Dixon, remember?"

"Yeah brother, I remember." When they joined the others, Rick and Lori were sitting at the table with the rest of them. The men went to get food and drinks, keeping the women in their sights. It took two trips for all of it. They had burgers, hot dogs, fries and funnel cakes. The kids wanted ice cream and the adults agreed to the request, but told them they would have to wait until later so they wouldn't get sick. When they were finished, they all made trips to the bathroom. As Yvonne came out, she was startled by someone calling her name.

"Ms. Bradley, it's nice to see you again, under better circumstances. How have you been?"

"Officer Walsh, I didn't know you would be here tonight. Are you working?"

"Yes ma'am. I volunteered for security detail. Just because I don't have a girl to bring, don't mean I have to miss out on all the fun," Shane replied.

'That's a good attitude Officer Walsh."

"Please call me Shane. How have you been doing? Everything okay?"

"Yes, Shane, I'm doing good. It took a while to heal, but I'm doing better now. Thank you for asking. If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to everyone. It was nice seeing you again." As she passed him, he grabbed her wrist.

"You shouldn't be alone our here ya know. After dark, it can get dangerous."

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm with Daryl. Rick, T-Dog, and Merle are with us too. I'll be safe." She pulled her arm from Shane's grasp and walked back toward the group. Daryl met her halfway. "What the hell was that? What the fuck did that asshole say to you?"

"He wanted to know how I've been. He was concerned."

"The fuck he was concerned! I want you to stay away from him. I don't trust him. You don't leave my side tonight, you hear me."

"Yes Daryl. I wasn't planning on being away from you, but you need to calm down. I don't know why you don't trust him and I doubt you'll tell me, but he can't hurt me. I told him I was here with you, Merle, Rick and T-Dog, and that there was no reason to worry about me."

"That all he wanted?"

"He said I shouldn't be walking around alone after dark. That this place is dangerous."

"He's right, but you ain't alone. You haven't been alone all night and you're not gonna be alone ever again. You and Michael are sticking with me." He kissed her forehead gently and put his arm around her shoulders as they walked over to the group. It had been decided that Merle, Carol and the kids would go with Daryl and Yvonne. Rick and Lori would go with T-Dog and Jackie. The kids wanted to play the games, so they all went to win as many prizes they could.

Shane watched them from the shadows. Both those Dixon boys were gonna be in a world of hurt by the time it was all over. He'd make sure of that. Fortunately, he wasn't the only one who had it in for the Dixons. "Hey there cousin. You having a good night so far?"

"Hey man, where the hell you been? I've been tailing your girl and that damn Dixon all night. What the hell have you been doing?"

"Same thing as you cuz," Len answered. "I just been getting a different perspective than you, I reckon. Saw ya talkin' to her too."

"Just expressing my concern for her well-being man. Didn't mean nothin' by it. I'm looking out for your girl Len. You should appreciate that. We just gotta bide our time. The Dixons are fuck ups. Daryl's a fool if he thinks he can keep her. She deserves better than that trash. We're gonna make sure she gets it."

"Hello boys." Joe slinked up behind them. "You two doing some familial bonding?"

"Just keeping an eye on her boss. What'd you see?" Len asked.

"I've been tracking the traitor. Looks like he's trying to get in good with your partner, Shane. May have to take him out too."

"You can send them all to hell for as many fucks as I give boss. As long as I get that sweet, blonde pussy, I don't care what you do." Len said and eyed Yvonne from the shadows.

"That's you own situation to take care of Len. It gets fucked up, it's on you. All I give a shit about is finally getting rid of goddamn Merle. Man's been a fuckin' pain in my ass for years now. Motherfucker takes more than he sells and he ain't getting away with that shit no more. He and little D know too much about what we do. That dumbass cop friend of his thinks he's gonna get us, but he's wrong." Joe turned his back to Shane and Len and walked back into the shadows.

Lori, Jackie, Carol and Yvonne had so many stuffed animals, they had to get the guys to carry some. None of them minded except for Merle, who told Carol she was gonna owe him big time for making him look like a pussy in front of all those people. Carl and Michael had competed to win a prize for Sophia and both had been victorious. When the carnival closed, the group headed to the parking lot. As everyone was saying their goodbyes, Michael walked up to Daryl. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure buddy. What do you want to know?"

"Are you momma's boyfriend now?" Daryl was more surprised by the timing of the question rather than the question itself.

"Your momma and I wanted to talk to you about that. Would you be okay with it if I was?" Daryl asked tentatively.

Michael thought for a second. "Yeah, I'd be okay with it. Momma hasn't smiled this much in forever. And you treat her good, and you're nice to me. I like you a lot and I know mamma does too. You're not like my daddy. She always cried when he was around. I'm okay with it, just promise me something."

"Anything Michael."

"Don't hurt her and don't leave her."

"I'm gonna do everything in my power to never hurt your momma. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I knew I was responsible or causing her pain; and I ain't never leaving her, or you. Ya'll are my family now. I can't lose ya'll. I love both of ya and I'm gonna be here forever."

"Good." Michael said and went to say goodbye to Carl. Yvonne and Lori had planned a sleepover for the boys since they had gotten along so well together. Merle waited until everyone had left before he pulled out of the lot. He was staying at Carol's and Daryl was gonna drive Yvonne and Michael home in their car. As they were on their way to Woodbury, Yvonne thought it might be a good time for her and Daryl to talk to Michael.

"Honey, there's something Daryl and I want to talk to you about."

"If it's about ya'll dating, I'm good with it." Michael said.

Daryl looked over at her and put his hand on her knee. "We talked about it. We're all good sweetheart. We've got an understanding."

"Oh, okay. Well, I'm glad I was involved." She looked at Daryl and smiled. When they got to the house, he walked inside with them and Yvonne grabbed him a beer from the fridge. "I assume you'll be staying tonight, since you don' have a ride home."

"I was hoping for an invitation. I don't like to make assumptions."

"You're invited. Neither of us work tomorrow, we can be lazy."

Daryl put his arms around Yvonne and backed her into the kitchen counter. "I'll be as lazy as you want tomorrow, but I've got some energy to burn tonight, if you're not too tired."

"I don't think I'll _ever _be _that_ tired," she said, repeating Daryl's own words. "I've got to get Michael in bed first."

"Alright," he kissed her. "I'll go with you. I wanna say goodnight." Michael was exhausted and asleep before his head hit the pillow. Yvonne led Daryl to her bedroom and closed the door as Daryl sat on the edge of the bed. As she walked to him, she shed her shirt and bra leaving them strewn across the floor. He reached out for her and pulled her to him. "We have to be quiet," she said, holding his face in her hands.

"I can do that baby girl. I'm not so sure about you though." He gently placed his kips on the soft skin of her stomach. His tongue glided across the expanse of her, dipping into her navel. He pulled her onto his lap and took one breast into his mouth. She reached between them to the button of his jeans. He tucked her body into his and moved her onto the bed. He stood and finished taking off his pants and pulled off his shirt. He leaned over and slid her pants from her body. He climbed on top of her, spreading her legs with his knees. He took her lips with passion and reached down to stroke her gently. His lips muffled her moans. When he released her, he used his free hand to take her wrists and put them above her head. His other hand went from her wet heat to his own throbbing erection. He positioned himself at her entrance and slowly pushed himself inside her. His hungry eyes never left her body until he was fully seated inside her and he closed them and stilled his body.

"I love you baby girl. You're mine. You belong to me forever." He pulled out until only his tip remained and he thrusted powerfully back into her. His free hand roamed her body from her thighs to her breasts. He leaned down on top of her, letting go of her wrists and settling both hands by her sides to prop himself up. She was trying so hard to suppress her moans, but as his thrusts increased in sped, she couldn't control herself. She could feel the pressure building in her lower stomach and breathlessly whispered, "I'm gonna cum Daryl." He buried his head in her neck and began to suck ferociously as she came undone beneath him. Feeling her body convulse pulled his orgasm from his body and he loaned loud but low.

"I love you Daryl," she whispered in his ear. "Forever." He lifted his head from her neck and looked at her with love and admiration. He placed a chaste kiss upon her lips before placing another on the heart she wore between her breasts.

"Forever. I promise you baby. I'll never leave you. I couldn't live without you. You are my fucking life." He pulled his softening cock from her and lay on his back. He stayed there with his eyes closed as Yvonne began to stroke his bare chest with her fingers. "You better be ready to go again, 'cause if you don't stop that, I will be."

"No Daryl. I'm pretty worn out now. I just love touching you, but I think we should get some sleep. I have a feeling Michael's gonna have a problem with us having a lazy day."

"He made me promise to never hurt you or leave you." Daryl said running his fingers through her hair

"He's such a sweet boy. He's very protective of me."

"He should be. Any man who doesn't feel the need to protect what he loves, ain't a man. It was the easiest promise I've ever made baby. And I'll damn sure die before I break it." As they got settled in bed together, arms around each other, Daryl hoped like hell that whatever shit storm was coming for them he would be able to save her and Michael from it.


End file.
